Sri Lanka, July 14 -- I believe everything is energy and carries a frequency. Because human bodies, thoughts, and emotions are energy forms, sound, which also carries a vibration, can affect our well-being in either negative or positive ways.
Could you tell us about your lifelong relationship with music?
Music has always been a part of my life. My earliest memory is of singing at just five years old. When I was seven, my father bought a piano for our home because he enjoyed singing and playing, which led me to start playing by ear. By the age of ten, I began formal piano lessons, eventually completing my 5th grade AMEB exams. Growing up, I performed as a singer and dancer, often accompanying myself on the piano at festivals, competitions, and on television in Australia. I began writing my own music as a teenager and started pursuing songwriting seriously at eighteen. My musical influences are rooted in soul, jazz, specifically Billie Holiday, as well as the Motown artists of the 70s and 80s, and singers like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Sade, and Aaliyah.
How did you navigate the decision to pursue both music and medicine?
When I was fifteen, my father asked my sisters and I what we wanted to do for a career. I told him I wanted to be a singer-songwriter and perform in a band. However, my father, who is a GP, encouraged us to study at university for a stable career first, with the intention that we could pursue music once that was completed. Since I enjoyed health, science, fitness, and working with people, and was achieving high marks in school, medicine seemed like a viable path. My final high school score placed me in the top 1% of New South Wales, Australia, which allowed me to enter medical school.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Lanka Woman.