I Traded My Convertible for an F-150

Have you ever had a dream that you quietly tucked away because life took you in a different direction? Maybe it felt too far out of reach, or somewhere along the way, you convinced yourself it just wasn't meant to happen.

I think most of us have something like that. A dream we had when we were younger that we eventually put aside to get on with life.

Mine just happened to involve a Shania Twain record and a cedar chest.

Growing up in Iowa, I used to sneak Shania Twain's Come On Over album out of my mom's cedar chest. (She loved the song “You’re Still The One” and the only way to get it was to buy the whole record.) You see, we were only allowed to listen to Christian music in our house, so listening to Shania’s entire album was my little secret.

I'd press play, quietly sing every song, and daydream about what it would be like to put on a show for an audience.

But life moved on. I grew up, and somewhere along the way, music fell into the background. Like so many childhood dreams, it slowly became something I used to imagine rather than something I thought I would actually pursue.

The Road to Nashville

The road I took to Nashville was definitely not straight and narrow. There were plenty of twists and turns, and a few bumps and bruises along the way.

I actually built an entirely different life for myself in Los Angeles. Music felt too far out of reach and LA is expensive so I became a hairdresser and, accidentally, ended up working as a celebrity hairstylist. I had a career, a life, and something I'd worked very hard to build.

But music kept finding its way back into my life.

Then some unexpected life events turned everything upside down, and I found myself at a crossroads. (You’ll hear all about the life event in the EP.)

I had a choice to make. I could keep living the life I'd worked so hard to build, or I could take a chance on the dream I'd spent years talking myself out of.

So I packed my bags, traded in my convertible for an F-150, and hit the road to Nashville.

Some people called it stupid. Some people called it brave.

I call it both of those things, depending on the day.

But I am grateful every day.

And while it might look like I took a pretty big detour, I don't regret those years in the beauty industry. I still use so much of what I learned during that time, especially when it comes to the visual and creative side of being an artist. From styling and fashion to understanding how all the little details come together to create a certain feeling, that experience has become a huge part of what I do today.

Funny how the things you think are taking you away from your dream can actually end up preparing you for it.

Why I've Chosen to Stay Independent

One of the things that's become really important to me along the way is protecting the integrity of the music that's being created through me.

I know that might sound like an unusual way to describe songwriting, but that's genuinely how it feels sometimes. An idea comes out of nowhere, a melody starts forming, or a conversation turns into something you never expected. And suddenly there's a song that didn't exist a few hours earlier.

I think there's something pretty incredible about that.

It's also one of the reasons I've chosen to remain an independent country artist.

I want the freedom to create without constantly worrying about whether something fits a formula or whether it's what the music industry thinks people want to hear. Of course, I understand there's a business side to all of this, and I'm not pretending it doesn't matter. But I don't ever want the business to become more important than the music itself.

I want to preserve the art and creativity, keeping each song as close to its original form as possible, with as little outside influence as I can manage.

That doesn't mean I don't love collaborating. Actually, it's one of my favorite parts of making music. There's something really special about getting in a room with other songwriters and watching an idea turn into something none of us could have created quite the same way on our own.

I just want to make sure that whatever we create comes from an honest place.

If I ever sign with a Record Label, you’ll know that our core values on where creativity should sit are aligned. I just haven’t found that Record Label yet.

The Stories Behind the Songs

Now that I'm living in Nashville, I get to spend time doing something I genuinely love, writing and creating music with some incredibly talented people.

Some of my songs come from personal experiences. Others start with a conversation, a feeling, or something that makes me think, "There's a song in that."

And sometimes, the meaning of a song changes for me after it's written.

That's one of the things I love about music. You can write something about a very specific moment in your own life, and someone else can hear it and feel like you're telling their story.

Songs like Weightless, God Got Drunk, and Diamonds Aren't Forever are all different, but each one means something to me.

And I love hearing how people interpret the songs and the different ways they connect with them.

Bringing the Music to Life

I've always loved the visual side of storytelling, too. Fashion, cinematography, beautiful spaces, and all the little details that can make you feel something without anyone saying a word.

That's part of what inspired my upcoming six part cinematic visual EP, I Do, I Did, I'm Done.

It's a collection of six songs and six music videos that connect to tell one continuous story.

On the surface, it's about a woman going through heartbreak and the end of a marriage. But that's really just where the story begins.

I've said this before, and I think it's probably the best way to explain the project.

“I’m not putting this EP out because it’s about my ex. I’m putting it out because it is about my healing journey. I am putting it out for the version of me that didn’t know if we’d ever be this happy again.”

It's about what happens after the heartbreak. The things you learn about yourself, the decisions you make, the moments when you wonder what in the world you're doing, and eventually realizing that maybe the life ahead of you could be even better than the one you left behind.

I'm putting a lot of myself into this project, not just musically, but creatively. There are so many details I'm excited to share, and I love the idea that someone might watch it and find hope that no matter where they are in the heartbreak journey, that it gets better. Better than ever, in fact.

It's Never Too Late to Change Course

Sometimes I think about that little girl in Iowa, sneaking Shania Twain's album out of her mom's cedar chest and dreaming about being on stage.

If you'd told her how many years it would take, how many times she'd change direction, or how many obstacles she'd have to work through to get here, I'm not sure she would have believed you.

And I'm not sure she would have believed that after all those years, she'd still get the chance to chase that dream.

But that's one of the things life has taught me. Just because something doesn't happen when or how you imagined it would, doesn't mean it isn't meant for you.

I've learned that changing course doesn't mean you've failed, and starting over doesn't mean you're starting from nothing. Everything you've experienced along the way becomes part of what you bring to the next chapter.

So if there's something you've always wanted to do, something that keeps tugging at you no matter how much time has passed, I hope you'll give yourself permission to explore it.

You don't have to have it all figured out. You don't have to know exactly how you're going to get there. And you certainly don't have to be the same age you were when you first dreamed about it.

Sometimes all it takes is being willing to take that first step, even if it scares you a little.

I spent a lot of years trying to convince myself that music wasn't the road for me. Looking back, I'm so grateful it never quite let me go.

Maybe there's a dream in your life that's been patiently waiting for you to come back to it, too.

And if there is, I hope you do.

xo, Ellie