Khalifa's Story

Recently, life is pretty weird.

I just released an album this month. Most people hearing about it we're like yeaaayy, 

"Oh, I hope you gonna make it big time..."

These are the words that I hear the most, and it is a fine example of how people with good hearts can break your heart while they try to cheer you up in their own way, with all the good intentions they have. 

I believe their intentions are true because that is what the society expects from the artist.

I have written about his before. Expecting an artist to be plain rich and famous,  seeing this as their only measure of success, is the notion I have been trying to fight for years.

What is actually 'making it'? 

I can not understand. 

I understand why people want it. I wish that the ones with the dreams of this kind, to reach their expectations so that they could understand if this is what they actually wanted or not.

Even though I can understand where they're coming from,

Why none of them had the slightest idea of asking me, if I am happy?

Will I be complete when my songs reach millions?

Will I be happy when I give dozens of interviews everyday? Will I be happy with the money i have ..

Will I be happy with the attention?

I started making music because I was never good with words. I was singing on my own and then one day, people discovered that and were like;

"oh woow, she could sing."

I was happy that I was recognized but the feeling I get when I sing or play with other people is something else.

I never thought that the path I'm taking would lead me to stuff that has nothing to do with music.

And this is why I am tired. 

Because dealing with people's expectations should not be my job.

I am an artist.

And I will make art.

There once was a teacher I had, she implied I wasn't working hard enough because it wasn't out there.

It wasn't out there for people to see.

Just because it's not out there, doesn't mean that I'm not doing what I'm supposed to do. 

Like, practicing the kind of work that actually inspires me.

Every one should work and develop themselves on their own time, and no one should have the right to say what you should be doing.

I don't want anyone to come and tell me 'you gotta this, you shoulda that..." 

If my art is only about me, that means I'm not doing it right.

If my art is not making any positive impact, than it means that I have failed. 

I'm not telling other people to be this way, but that's what makes me happy.

I recently came across the story of Khalifa when I was pretty banged up with all the thoughts and expectations people have over me. You can easily say "oh don't mind about them, just stay in your path"

My path is a human's path. Since I am one; I have every right to get overwhelmed with all the stuff around me. 

But I digress, 

As I told you before, I am not very good with words all the time; especially when I have to express myself. So, please take a minute to read what Khalifa has to say. She's a student from the Jane Goodall Institute and I find her story very encouraging.

- So, I don't think I'll be writing about this for a while. I believe that I'll be busy singing, on my own, also with other people. I shouldn't have to carry the burden of sharing it on social media every single time and don't have to explain it to everyone all the time, so that's what I'm going to do.  

Khalifa:

Her Roots & Shoots experiences “shaped the kind of person I am today,” she says,  “sometimes in unexpected ways”. The trip to Tanzania, in particular, had a profound impact on her life:

“It was almost like I was going home to a place where I’ve never been,” she says. There, she met people who “had pure hearts”— loving not only to their neighbors but also to animals and the environment. To this day, she says, she aims “to be as pure and loving as they were.”

.... Reflecting on the many projects she was involved in, Khalifa says a favorite was called Peace Through Art. During the Iraq War, she and her peers made and collected art from students in the United States and sent them to Iraqis. The project tapped into both her passion for expression through art and her commitment to helping others. 

“Art is very special,” she says, “in that art is kind of a universal language. You don’t have to really speak the same language as someone to get a message across.”

In 2017, Khalifa graduated from college with a degree in neuroscience. Today, she is at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York pursuing her masters and working toward a combined Ph.D. and MD to become a physician-scientist.

She hopes to be an inspiration to women, to people of color, and to others who “have that little seed”—who want to ask questions, seek answers, have an impact on their communities. “So people pull you up, right, but the idea is that you should pull someone up too,” she says.

“The mountain top, for me at least,” she says, “is making a positive impact in my community, knowing that I helped change not only my life but other people’s lives.” 

She hopes that her story will motivate others. Ultimately, she says, “I want to do the same for others that Jane has done for me. That’s the long-term goal.”

For the whole story : https://rootsandshoots.org/stories/khalifa-stafford/