Gabriela Ortega

Wearing My Gems & Overcoming Anxiety

I can’t imagine a future where I do anything but music. Songwriting enables me to put into art and make sense of every internal feeling that I have trouble putting into simple words. Music helps me understand myself and my often-intrusive thoughts; it is the language of my heart through which I communicate most effectively with the world around me. Singing and songwriting have been an outlet for coping with my mental health struggles, such as OCD, anxiety, and ADD. I’ve been singing since age two, although by then, I had over 20 ear infections, and doctors weren’t sure if I could hear from my left ear (later, my hearing improved). Music also helps me join the diverse parts of my life and who I am: a mestizo, first-generation U.S-born and (future) college graduate, Nicaraguan, and Ashkenazi Jewish.