Last week, I wrote about the struggle of making time for your passion. I shared with you 5 tips that I use to make sure I regularly stay involved with my music. (Read about those tips, here.) In addition to those tips, something that I believe will hugely help you make time for your passion is surrounding yourself with people who support you.

I am SO GRATEFUL for each and every one of the wonderful people out there who support my dream! ❤

In this post, I wanted to write about one supporter in particular. I dedicate this post to the person who supported me to the extent that he brought music back into my life: my husband, author Caleb Behnke.

I remember it all starting on the car ride home from a Rammstein concert in Chicago.I remember talking with Caleb and a close friend about how amazing it is that some people can make music be their whole life. I told Caleb how I admired those people because I had given up on my music. Caleb and my friend told me that it was never too late to make music part of my life again. They suggested that I start by creating a YouTube channel and posting videos of my original songs as well as covers. Caleb told me he would film me playing these songs.

And that’s how I began making music part of my life again. (Read the post I wrote about my first YouTube channel, here. Check out my YouTube channel, here.)

The YouTube channel kick started making music a part of my life again, but what happened that same year compelled me to strive to achieve my lifelong dream of making an album. I lost my grandmother and an aunt that I was very close to within a period of six months. I realized that life was too short to not do what you love. That’s when I decided to make an album.

When I shared my goal with others, some people gave me the “I’ll believe it when I see it” face. But not Caleb. He was always 100% supportive of my dream.

When I was preparing to record my first song,“Like They All Did,” I had assumed that the drums and acoustic guitar parts had to be recorded at the same time. Since I can’t play guitar and drums at the same time, I asked Caleb if he would learn the drum part I wrote. Since Caleb had never played the drums before, that was a big favor to ask of my then boyfriend, but he agreed to do it. 🙂

It wasn’t until we got to the studio to record “Like They All Did” that I learned that we could record the instruments separately. Oops! (That’s why I ended up playing drums for all the other songs on TEMPTATION. 😛 )

(Check out my blog post about recording my first song in a recording studio, here.)

Here’s a photo of Caleb playing the drums for “Like They All Did.”

Caleb’s dedication to supporting my dream didn’t end there. He regularly provided me with feedback on the songs I was writing. He spent HOURS with me in the studio giving me feedback on how what I was recording sounded. He was a HUGE part of the album creation and recording process.

Caleb is also a HUGE part of my performances. He helps me lug around all my equipment-sometimes quite literally, when he helped  me carry my gear to parks during Make Music Madison. 😉  (Read about my first time performing at Make Music Madison, here). He also helps me with my sound checks. Most importantly, although he’s heard my songs time after time again, I can always see his supportive smiling face in the audience at my shows. 🙂

I am so excited that music has become such a huge part of my life, and I am truly grateful to have someone in my life who has been so supportive since the beginning!

May you surround yourself with people who support your passion. You deserve to make it a part of your life. ❤