At the age of 15, Trainor enrolled at the Berklee College of Music.[3] She attended a five-week course at the college in 2009 and 2010, receiving Trainor home-produced her eponymous debut album from GarageBand.[3][5] In 2009, Trainor's parents "dragged" her to songwriting conventions.[10] Her father stated that Trainor "thought she was one of the chubby girls who would never be an artist" and for this reason she gravitated to song publishing.[4] Trainor's self-titled album was followed-up by two acoustic albums in 2011, I'll Sing with You and Only 17; All three albums were self-released.[11] The former was finished in December 2010, and the latter was a predominantly pop album with influences of jazz and country. Trainor collaborated with her father on three jazz-influenced songs featured on Only 17. Throughout 2010 and 2011, Trainor established herself as a singer-songwriter, achieving success songwriting contests held across the United States. She self-released a song, "Take Care of Our Soldiers," to which all proceeds went to the United Service Organizations. Trainor performed twice at the Bluebird Cafe and toured the Belmont University in 2011.[12] Only 17 was then handed to NRBQ member Al Anderson at a songwriters expo in Durango.[3] Anderson passed on the album to Carla Wallace of Big Yellow Dog Music who offered Trainor a publishing deal at the age of 17.[1] Trainor's parents encouraged her to pass up college for the publishing deal, quipping, "You can learn more with this job than you can in a classroom".[13] She then decided to write songs and travel.[13] Trainor later dropped out at Berklee due to creative differences with students and professors at the college.[3] She felt she was capable enough to accomplish herself as a songwriter,[10] and left before her last class, stating, "I know how to write a song"
