The first time I heard TWIMC I was blown away by how much of it I could relate to. The lyrics were amazing and deeply affected me. Lisa is a true artist in every sense of the word. There were many situations in my past that had demons lingering in my head. Lisa’s music helped me to process these events. I realized that emotions are the common thread for humanity and that no matter who you are or where you live, pain hurts and disappointment drowns. She is able to express these emotions through her music and for me it has been the catalyst I needed in order to move on with my life and deal with the past.
What I love most about Lisa’s albums is that they are both great for road trips. When I listen to Lisa’s music, a certain verse will send me through the chapters of my life. Often I have listened to the entire cd and not realized it because I have solved all the problems of the world in my head. Then there are times that anyone riding by would think I AM LMP because I am singing every word to every song!!
Lisa has been an inspiration that has helped me in my personal life and in my professional life as well. I am an assistant principal at an “alternative school” for “juvenile delinquents”. I taught at this school for 10 years before becoming part of the administration. A lot of our students are on medications to control behavior. I have always been against giving children medicine to make them behave and would advise the parents of my students against it. My voice was never as loud as when Lisa inspired me through her actions in trying to get legislation passed to protect our children. I went back to school to get certified in administration and this past school year was finally placed in the position to fight for my students. It is a daily struggle against my principal and the nurse on campus but I have made my voice loud and clear. Because I am in a position of authority now, I am able to control how my teachers deal with these students who come to school so broken sometimes that the books have to be pushed aside to deal with life. Some of their stories break my heart but together we try to find solutions. Also because of my position, I have more credibility with parents. Very often parents tell me that school officials not wanting to “deal with” their children have misled them. I show them alternatives by example. I want Lisa to know that even though Congress may never hear my voice, I have joined her in the fight and am both inspired and impressed by her. All I know is that I have been forever changed by her music. She has created a ripple effect and she may never know how far it travels.
Brewer