Those who know junior Emma Foteff know that she is an incredibly talented musician and performer. Many people can recognize her singing in the choir, performing in the musical, and playing her guitar at school events. However, Emma’s passion for music isn’t limited to participating in school activities, but is something she has also been pursuing on her own.

Over this past summer, Emma performed at the Happy Valley Station food carts, which she says was the first time she had performed in front of a large amount of people. “It was fun and I got a lot of good feedback,” she said.

Performing for the first time was exciting for Emma, but came with a lot of nerves. “I never thought I would be able to perform in front of anyone,” she said. “I got way more nervous the first few times, [and] then every time I would get less nervous.” Emma also found ways to help herself combat her nerves before performing by talking to her mom, who “really helps me to calm down,” or practicing on her guitar to keep her mind busy.

By playing at the food carts in Happy Valley, Emma has been introduced to even more opportunities to perform. The Happy Valley Station uploaded a video of Emma performing to their Facebook page, where a couple reached out to her. “I got to play for a date night at their vineyard, and also again at their wedding,” said Emma. “I really enjoyed it, so I would like to do that at other places.”

Emma’s love for music has had a strong impact on her life, giving her strength through times where she was struggling. “Whenever I was going through something I would always turn to music,” she said. It has also built a lot of confidence in herself and her abilities. Ultimately, Emma says “I feel like it has given my life a purpose, and I feel like this is what I was meant to do.”

Emma would like to continue having music be a part of her life in the future. She hopes to major in something involving music in college and then continue to pursue it afterwards. “I know that I want to involve music in my life somehow, even if it’s not performing,” she said.

For anyone else who is similar to Emma and has a love for music or performing in any other way, Emma said to remember that “no one wants you to fail when you’re singing in front of people,” and that instead, people are hoping for success. Emma also believes in “[pushing] yourself to do things that make you uncomfortable even if you don’t want to, [because] sooner or later you’ll realize the things that make you nervous aren’t really a big deal.”