Besides my love of politics and international relations, I also a music fanatic who has been an avid guitar player with over 15 years.

Personally, music allowed me to stake an identity, forge strong bonds with others, and surpass mediocrity. As a child, I retained a speech deficiency that limited my ability to communicate with others and develop friendships. This limitation initially seemed insurmountable; I dabbled in multiple activities as an adolescent, only to stumble upon the guitar as a last resort. Growing up, I have always been captivated by the power of guitarists, like Al Di Meola, Freddie Greene, and Jimi Hendrix, to form powerful connections with listeners while expressing their own distinctive voice. The guitar is thus not only a tool for catharsis but also an instrument of language. When I could not speak, the guitar was my voice. In turn, this instrument helped me recognize that despite one’s limitations, music enables people to drastically shape their social environment by teaching the values of focus, patience, and persistence.

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Although I tended to primarily play classic rock and jazz growing up, I began to expand my music vocabulary to include rap and R&B later on in life, especially for hip-hop legends like Notorious B.I.G, Tribe Called Quest, Denzel Curry, Kanye West, and Kendrick Lamar.

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In college, I was actually in two bands that reflected both sides to my musical persona: 1) No Wonder, a hip-hop fusion group and 2) Right-Wing Moms, a politically fueled lo-fi punk band.