Having A Place

Emma

It is finally Tuesday. The day I get to meet Natalie Hemby. She has been my songwriting idol since I was like, twelve. I was super excited when they all decided to cut 'Pontoon' and 'Tornado.' My parents are really excited for me to have this experience to write with other songwriters and it could open a lot of doors for me in the future. Songwriting is something that I really want to pursue. My dad said that since I have been through so much, I could write really powerful and relatable songs that people can connect to.

I just finished breakfast and I'm getting ready to go. I just showered and dried my hair. I'm wearing a pair of jean shorts and a white tank top with a light yellow horizontal chevron pattern. I grabbed a pair of silver sandals and put them on. It's going to be warm today so I decided to French braid my hair to the side. Once I was ready to go, I grabbed my guitar and I went downstairs by Mom.

"Are you excited for today?" she asked.

"Yes" I said excitedly.

"Do you know how to get to her studio?" she asked.

"Yeah, and if I get lost, I'll just plug it into the GPS" I said.

"Okay" she said with a smile.

"Can I have the keys now?" I asked and she nodded.

"Make sure you say goodbye to your father before you go" she said with a smile.

"I will. Where is he?" I asked.

"I think he's downstairs. I told him he had to clean up the music room" she said. I went in the basement and made my way back to the music room.

"Daddy, I'm leaving" I said.

"Alright kiddo, have fun and make lots of music" he said and gave me a hug.

"I will" I said and went back upstairs. I grabbed my guitar and headed to the garage.

"Bye sweetie. Have fun" mom said.

"I will" I said and opened the door. I put my guitar in the back seat then climbed in the driver's seat. I opened the garage door and started the car. I plugged the address in the GPS in case I end up not knowing where I'm going because that will likely happen. Once I got everything situated, I backed out and drove down the driveway.

I kind of knew where the writing studio was and drove in that direction. It took about a half an hour to get there, but once I got off my exit I had to turn the GPS on. I followed the directions and made it to the studio. I parked the car and climbed out. I grabbed my guitar from the back and locked the car. I walked up to the studio and Natalie met me at the doors. I cannot believe this is happening. I'm just going to try not to freak out. I probably had the biggest smile known to man on my face and I probably looked like an idiot. I walked inside and she gave me a hug.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Emma" she said cheerfully.

"You too" I said with a smile.

"I've heard you are quite the songwriter" she said as we walked into the studio.

"I've written, but I don't think my songs are nearly as good as yours and I'm only sixteen so I don't really have a lot to say and people probably won't even take me seriously" I said.

"I beg to differ. Your mom sent me a video of you singing your song on Saturday and it was amazing" she said.

"Really?" I asked, kind of doubting her.

"Really. You don't have to be a certain age to write a good song that people will listen to. Look at Taylor Swift" she said with a giggle.

We walked in a room with a piano. The room was very bright with lots of windows. There were two couches and a chair. We sat down and just started talking.