關於 welcometomymind ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

Welcome to my 2nd blog.

I guess you can say that I'm your classic Virgo - perfectionistic, idealistic, a little anal and OCD. Which to me is ironic, given my early musical alter-ego or public persona, has been mostly sunshine, beaches, ukuleles and chill acoustic music. With artistic and musical expression, sometimes you discover new facets of yourself. I love that about art and music. But as chill and as easy all of it looked, I definitely was so not chill about it behind the scenes. From how we chose to combine different instruments for each song, to keeping it fresh and creative and slightly different each time, to picking the locations, to getting the perfect takes, to video editing. I could be glued to the chair, forgetting to eat, drink or pee... all day all night until the work is done. That was my flow.

Flow is always easy, when you can catch the wave. When you feel like you know what you’re doing, when you feel like there's a clear direction. When you catch the wave, you can just ride on the momentum, and everything seems to go smoothly because you can simply function on "what feels right". But then you have those roadbumps, or even those walls. At those points, time seems to move way slower. Everyday becomes a drag, and you start to feel lost, unmotivated, and stuck. But they are necessary. They are there so you can be better. They are there to give you a better board to ride the wave on, because waves all die off eventually. And I always have to remind myself that it's called life, and it's totally normal. But before I got onto it, I had no idea what it was, or what it would look like.

I still remember when "flow" didn't exist for me. I still remember the time when I had my first ever professionally produced and published solo song, before the whole R&K phase, when I worked with the first producer I had ever worked with. I remember winning a certain competition hosted by a certain label, thinking all of it was so exciting and so cool, before the scary reality struck. And then after all the congratulations, he sat me down, and told me the harshest things, but also the most real and genuine words that I still remember today.

I remember going through hours and hours worth of meetings with him, and feeling very discouraged after all of them, thinking that I suck. But I know all he wanted was to try to fire me up. I still see it as tough love till this day, but I guess I was too soft and meek back then to take it like a pro. It definitely took me a while. I remember typing out something he said to me, as a status on my personal private facebook account, and I posted it only really to have it serve as a personal reminder. Essentially, the point was that I had to step up my game. But it wasn't just "step up your game". It was a creative metaphor. Amongst a lot of other things, he said, “Ok, so you won the competition, you’re just the fittest kid in a fat camp. Now you have to go run the olympics. It’s a different playing field completely." I remember posting something like “fit kid in a fat camp”, just because I found it very tongue-in-cheek, and was a good reminder. I was fired up, determined, inspired, motivated, I had an imaginary bandana around my forehead, and I’m like, heck yeah, let’s do this. And then… One day later, with his index finger pointed towards my direction, and with a firm, but calm kind of assertion, he said “Hey, don't quote me on facebook." Ohhhh-kay. Ooops. *Delete.* (I guess all these years later, I just quoted him again. Oops.)

But I can say that whether or not you agree with his mentoring methods, he was, kind of, my first music industry mentor. I remember a lot of the comments he had on a lot of the songs I had. I remember him finally liking ONE particular song that I had, that he ended up arranging and producing for.

I remember sitting on his producer chair, listening to the finished arrangement of my song on the large speakers he had, and being moved to tears. I remember internally freaking out about the crazy makeup on my face for the music video, but was too chicken to say a word about how much of a freak it made me feel like. I remembered from the first time I walked into the studio to record the song. I showed up with a large mug of tea and honey. He told me immediately I should not have had tea, because if it’s caffeinated my voice will drain and die sooner. Darn. Lesson learned. I then found myself in the recording room, and I was so nervous my voice was shaking. My vocal muscles did not listen to me, at all. I didn't realize a professional microphone can pick up so much of my vocal imperfections... But I stuck it out anyway; I only had one session, I had no choice. Walking out of the studio at the end of it, I really thought he was gonna be so harsh with his words. I mentally prepped for it. But he actually was nice for a change. “Hey, not bad for a first time. You should be proud of yourself.” Phew. okay.

And there it was. My first song ever published.

My stories and memories will always be something I can look back on with a smile, no matter what they are. I’m proud to look back and realize how much I’ve grown, thanks to this producer of harsh words, and many other mentors of mine, I hustled hard and was unapologetic about it when I caught my first wave, in the early stages of R&K. It maybe one of many road bumps right now, but when the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th wave comes, I’ll have new experiences, new stories to share, and new waves to ride on yet again, musical or not, and I’ll enjoy them and cherish them with new perspectives in place. I guess my point is this - Enjoy the ride, enjoy the flow, and be chill with your road bumps or walls. Even if there are no waves to ride on at the moment - still know and have faith that new ones are coming your way. To me, “hope” and “faith” are different. Hope can sometimes produce false expectations, and leave us in despair and disappointment; but faith, on the other hand, keeps us going against all odds. Know the difference. At least, it’s what I know I can always hold on to, and it’s still keeping me going.


Till next time. Choose love, and bring light.

Love,
R

#RobynnBlogs #WelcometoMyMind #BlogNumber2 #人生第一首出版的歌

下一次寫什麼好呢？
Inspire me:
你們想知道的故事
Let me know what you want me to share!
你們的故事
Tell me your stories! I'd love to read/share them too!

I’ve decided to start writing blogs here every once in a while, hopefully 2-3 times a week. But let’s see if I can keep this up. Let’s start here.

It’s truly amazing where life has taken me in my music career and in life, but it has never been an easy road, and it’s never an easy road for any one of us. I’ve seen how some singer friends hustle, and I’ve seen singer friends get lucky, but working hard has always been the prerequisite to longevity in this field, and talent can come in such different forms. That’s what I’ve seen, and what I find inspiring. The unspoken social hierarchy is one thing, but truly everyone is uniquely talented in their own ways- there’s no lesser or more, just different; and there’s no better or worse, it’s just about effort. And, well, timing, and luck.

For me, I never really fully understood the whole concept of fame, but fan support and individual messages motivated me because it made me feel connected to a bigger purpose. Our music gave hope, comfort, like a friend that knows your heart. For a long time, it felt like it was meant to be. But before R&K, before all that, it was, as it is for most people, just a hobby that was also my self-therapy. My songs have always been a personal thing, a diary entry, if you will, that just gave my own heart comfort. My singing and playing was genuinely just an emotional outlet after stressful days of work, but I took my work with the special needs children very seriously.

I remember one time, after going through a bad long distance breakup over the phone, and with tears just welled up in my eyes, I shakily pressed the doorbell to go to work trying to swallow the emotions back into my stomach. Yes, I used to go up to every apartment of my clients, all across Hong Kong, 3+ hours per session, 11 sessions a week, not including data organizing, prepping, report writing, and chatting to their families, and other meetings. I waited outside at the apartment door of the child that I was the therapist for, and when the swung open, I let out the brightest smile to conceal my tears, but after a while, the child actually made me forget about the emotional pain inside of me; and I was the most cheerful and energetic I’ve ever been. I genuinely cared so much for every child I was the therapist for, even when they sometimes are uncontrollably upset, screaming, kicking, sometimes for the entire session of 3 hours. (Gosh I admire their cardio endurance sometimes.) I have so much admiration for my colleagues who shared my struggles, frustrations, patience, and heart for these children, and a lot of them still do so till today. I still have high regards for their work, because I know it’s not easy. And I’m so happy that one of them finally had the courage and determination to open their own center finally, after talking about it for so many years. 🙂 (Do check them out, if you are curious about their service. Ascend HK 悦晴教育及發展中心)

I wish that truly one day, I could use my platform to share little stories to the world, whether it’s about the kids I’ve taught, little unspoken struggles and hardships during my career, etc.

During difficult times like these, when everything feels kind of pointless and hopeless for most of us, and when everything feels stagnant, and when we, R&K, for whatever reason, cannot share our new song yet (lol. hai. 🤷🏻‍♀️). But I’m choosing to focus on the parts of my life where I can control. So I just want to share little stories, or thoughts inside my head, because I never really wanted to lose touch with everyone, I guess I just didn’t really know what to say. I just wanna say - it has been emotionally difficult for me also. I’m with you.

But as someone with a little bit of a platform with some number of followers, I want to use it somehow for something meaningful, to spread stories of special needs families’ unconditional love for their children and how it inspires me, stories of struggles and hopes, stories of lessons learned, stories of bridges burned, stories of personal evolution. Some off-camera stuff.

So, excuse my new version of self-therapy. Till the next post. In the mean time, choose love, and bring light. I love you guys.

#RobynnBlogs #WelcometoMyMind #BlogNumber1