Before we move ahead any further into 2022, I just wanted to mention a project that I worked on in 2021. I went into great detail about it in my other blog “My Songwriting Journey,” but since many moments in 2021 were spent working on it, I wanted to include it here as well.

The project, “52 Weeks in 2021,” was a result of feeling a little anxious about approaching the age that my mom was when she died – 52. Instead of spending the time dreading it, I decided to instead work on something that I always wanted to do – write songs. She had always encouraged my love of writing – although in my earlier days it was more poems, articles and poetry with melodies instead of actual songs with instruments (although I did play viola and then violin in school orchestras, piano when I was in elementary school and guitar in high school, I was never particularly good at any of them).

By the time I would perform my songs at open mics, strumming the same few chords, in my 30s, she was no longer alive so she never heard any of them (although I did write one that I sang for her in the hospital, called “Thank you, Mom.”)

Anyway, although there of course there are 52 weeks in every year, in 2021 the “52” meant more to me than usual.

As I wrote in my introductory blog post about it, this project is “in memory of my mom and all those in 2020 whose plans were cut short.”

The project focused on sharing one of my original songs each week with the following guidelines:

1. The songs can be new or older songs, but each week I need to share one or part of one.
2. The songs can be shared in video or audio format.
3. I will attempt to implement all the tips and advice from a variety of sources as I moved forward.
4. I know the songs won’t sound perfect but I need to share one each week, even if I don’t end up with a version where I hit all the right notes, don’t like the way I look on the video or can’t get the production to sound demo quality.
5. I will remember that it’s all part of the process and I may not even get to a demo quality recording by the end of the year, but that’s OK.
6. I will keep learning because there’s SO MUCH TO LEARN.

Some weeks were easier than others, depending on what else I had going on in my life at the time – but I did it! Fourteen of the songs were brand new, some were ones I recorded a few years ago and some were new recordings of older songs.

If you’re interested, you can read/listen at leisahsongs.com.

Happy New Year! Wishing you a happy, healthy and successful 2022!