WEST HIGH’S CELEBRITY The story of a life-long passion
BY JENNA WANG
PHOTO BY CAROLINE YOUNG
The next generation of stars right now are the ones that aren’t discovered, have no money and aren’t even 20 yet. They’re enthusiastic teenagers who hold on to their big dreams and will stop at nothing to pursue them. Meet Abbie Callahan ‘20, who is one of these teenagers. Passionate about music and singing, she hadn’t discovered her love for the arts until the age of nine, when she was inspired from watching the talented kids sing on the hit show, America’s Got Talent. She pursued her passion right then with nothing but her karaoke tracks, her voice and the occasional jam session with her uncle. Today is a different story. 2 PROFILES SEPTEMBER 2016 WSSPAPER.COM
She first enters her room after a long and demanding day of school, full of lectures, homework and drama. Instantly, a light and fresh breeze hits her face from the open windows as the lilac walls brighten up the room. Avoiding the winding cords, amps and little guitar picks scattered all over the floor, she walks over to her bed and shuffles around the whirl of sheet music that covers it. “It’s kind of chaotic,” Callahan said. “My room’s a mess,” she added with a laugh. Instead of starting on homework or worrying about the day’s problems, she grabs her birchwood guitar, her collection of more than 500 songs, and strums along to the beat to unwind and forget about her day. The natural ability about her to turn any regular piece of sheet music into something so much more deep and meaningful flows out of her. After a few short minutes of recording a song, she listens to it with a half-smile on her face, scrutinizing for any improvements before she posts the video to her Instagram account with over 2000 followers. However, that’s only one small part of Callahan’s life. On days when she doesn’t have the time to play her worries away, she’s busy participating in Showtime, West High’s prep show choir, preparing for the rigorous Iowa All-State Choir audition, taking lessons at Rosazza Studio and being a member of Treble Choir. On top of that all, she loves to spend her evenings performing her own original songs to the public. But before the booming claps and whoops can thunder the stage, Callahan spends hours of effort and passion over many days drawing inspiration, considering ideas, erasing and testing notes until the song is finally complete. “When I write my songs, ideas come to my mind spontaneously. Usually it’s when I’m up at three a.m and I can’t go back to sleep,”