Chasing the Dream

Chasing the Dream

Chasing a dream is hard.

Some days it is incredibly hard.

I question myself constantly. I question whether I’m good enough, whether I’m making the right decisions, whether I’m doing enough, whether any of this is actually going where I hope it will.

And somehow, I have a tendency to miss the successes when they happen because the hustle never really ends.

There is always another improvement to make. Another show to book. Another email to answer. Another demand. Another idea that needs attention.

Before I know it, something I prayed for a year ago has happened—and instead of stopping to recognize it, I’m already strapping on the crampons to face the next mountain.

Recently, I took the first two real days off I’ve taken in more than two years. No side quests. No responsibilities. No catching up other things. Just rest.

And I felt what probably everyone around me could have told me I needed.

Relief.

Calm.

Gratitude.

For a minute, I stopped running long enough to look around at my life and realize just how much has happened.

Then at the end of a few days I started to feel something else. Desire to get back up and move forward again.

Not because I was afraid to stop but because I remembered why I started.

I was thinking about a conversation from about three years ago.

I was sitting in the music room at my house with my dear friend Leah. We were playing music and singing, and I was questioning whether I should pursue this music opportunity that had somehow been thrust into my lap.

I was uncertain.

I questioned whether I had what it takes.

I questioned whether I had anything worth saying to the world.

I questioned whether it was selfish to follow this path knowing it would mean less time with my family.

I questioned pretty much everything.

And I will never forget what Leah told me.

She told me that God had given me a gift, and it wasn’t for nothing.

She reminded me that God doesn’t give us gifts He isn’t prepared to equip us to use.

But then she said something that has stayed with me ever since.

She told me that someday, if I was willing to face this mountain, my own daughter would have an example to follow when she inevitably faced mountains of her own—when she stood at the bottom of something big and scary and found herself questioning her own way.

That conversation moved me.

It still moves me.

Because three years later, I still question myself.

I am painfully aware of my shortcomings. I know how much I still have to learn. I know there are better singers, better guitar players, better writers, better businesspeople and people who seem to navigate all of this with far more confidence than I do.

But my courage was never about believing I was the best person for the job.

Maybe sometimes it is just believing you were called to climb the mountain anyway.

So I keep going. Sometimes for

Me. Sometimes for the loyal souls who keep betting on me. Sometimes for my daughter ❤️

And this season, I’ve written a lot of songs about that journey.

About fear. Faith. Becoming. Letting go. Holding on. Chasing things that scare you. Learning who you are along the way.

I’m going to do everything I can to get those songs recorded and out into the world soon.

But for now, I’m going to share them with you all on all those stages I still sometimes feel undeserving of but am endlessly proud to stand on.

Maybe I need to get a little better at stopping long enough to recognize that some of the things surrounding me today are the very things I used to dream about.

That’s part of my journey too.

To climb.

To rest.

To look around.

To be grateful.

And then, when I’m ready, to keep going.

I love you all. Thank you for believing in these songs, showing up, listening, encouraging me, and giving me a reason to keep climbing.

I’m ready for the next steps.

Stay with me. ❤️

— Andria