Yes you read that right, 2 years. Not a long time. Heck I had braces longer than that.

If you’ve read the “Time is on Your Side” article you know that my biggest tool in pulling off this seemingly impossible task of going pro – was time, in particular, hours. I used the hours of every day to work towards my goal.

But where did I find all those hours? Especially since I was about to start my junior year of high school at All-Saints Episcopal??

Well, I had to make a switch. Enter in Van High School. This school was amazing. A gem in rural East Texas where I grew up. In fact, a lot of “young Kyle footage” you see in different episodes was shot in the Van auditorium after different choir concerts and art performances.

Van believed in helping me achieve my goal and dreams and allowed me to not only play piano for their choir (thank you Mrs. Lockwood) but also use free time during the day to play the school’s piano in the band hall to practice around the clock.  This was HUGEEEEEEE!

This meant anytime I was done with my class work I could go straight to the piano and practice. That 28 hours a week of practice I needed to do, and that I was talking about in the “Time is on Your Side” article didn’t stand a chance! In fact I averaged closer to 40 hours of week of practice time with the help of Van High School. My skills sky rocketed. The help my school provided me with was INSTRUMENTAL, pun intended lol, in beginning my professional career after high school.

So the takeaway here is this, when you’re focused on a goal, and you work hard, and do the right things, it’s amazing the people who will step up to help you when you need it most. In fact the clip below, Elvie Shane, at Omni Sound Studios, is talking about how a couple in Ohio helped him financially when he first moved to Nashville so he could focus on songwriting until he was able to get a publishing deal.

Help is all around you when you need it. Never be afraid to look or ask for it. #putemup

P.S. Thank you to Mr. Giles, Mrs. Lockwood, and the rest of the Van High School staff. Your kindness and help will never be forgotten and always paid forward.

-Kyle