News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Chely Wright, center, visited the Sisters Middle School Americana Project class last week. She told the students that good decisions are the key to realizing their dreams.
Sisters Middle School Americana Project students got a first hand glimpse at what it takes to be a success in the music business last Friday from visiting Starry Nights performer Chely Wright.
Wright, who has had a high degree of success in country music with hits such as "Shut Up and Drive" and "The Bumper of My SUV," told the class that she is working with legendary songwriter Rodney Crowell because she wants to continue growing as a musician and a writer.
"I've been a star, and I'm trying to be an artist," she said. "That's what I'm working on. I'm 37 years old now, and I want to be making records when I'm 50."
That statement was typical of the straightforward talk Wright had with the students.
She told the students how she idolized Loretta Lynn and determined from an early age to become a country singer. While she was dedicated to that goal, she was also a success academically and athletically in school.
She told students she has traveled to 23 countries in her career and asked the students what places they'd like to visit. She polled the students and some adult guests on their dreams and aspirations, boiling her message down to something very simple: Your dreams are reachable, but bad decisions can derail them.
"If there's one thing I want you to take away today, it's this," she said. "I made a verbal contract with my parents that I would always make good decisions. I've never taken a drug in my life.... I've never put a cigarette in my mouth."
She said the surest way to realizing dreams, no matter what they are, is to make a promise to yourself to chase the dream and not do anything that could make it impossible.
"The deal you make with yourself is the most important contract you'll ever make," she said. "Your dreams are right there."
Wright is no stranger to giving back to schools. Her Reading, Writing and Rhythm Foundation donates instruments to schools and supports music education in schools. The foundation donated an Epiphone electric guitar for the Starry Nights auction on Saturday night.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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