DESIGNS BY
FAITH
Feature Story - Aubrey Riggs
How Music Became More Than a Hobby
Who is Aubrey Riggs? Some may say a communication studies student at Park University, others could say an aspiring non-profit fundraiser, but anyone who knows her can certainly speak to her love for singing. She has been singing ever since she could remember and it only got better as she grew up. Through multiple choir classes, karaoke nights with friends, and even church service with her worship team, Aubrey has used singing as a way to express herself and bring people together. As she has grown up and her life has changed, her music evolved right along with her. During our interview, she mentioned how “music has been a great outlet for my emotions over the years”. Not only has listening to music been impactful to her life, but “writing music has also been a great way for me to work through and express my emotions over the years”. When something specific, such as music in this case, can help a person overcome hardships like depression and anxiety, it begins to light a special passion in that person. Aubrey has found this passion in singing and songwriting, which has greatly affected who she is as a person. With this feature story, I want to share her love for song and how it has become more than a simple hobby to her.
Music Turned Into...
Community
Passion
Confidence
Purpose
Family
Learn More About Aubrey
Aubrey wasn’t always excited about singing, as shocking as that may sound. Her first experience singing in a more public setting was in her middle school choir class. Most kids were required to take at least one choir class, so this wasn’t too stressful. However, the same can’t be said for her church’s worship group which basically volunteered her to join them. Thankfully, she was able to start out in her youth group instead of the main service, but I still can’t imagine how nervous she was. As she practiced more and more, she finally got the courage to ask her worship leader if she could slowly transition into the main worship team at her church. While they agreed she would start performing once a month with this group, she was quickly singing at every Sunday service. Not only did singing become a way for her to serve her church community, it also forced her to spend a lot more time at church and build a second family. She made a very powerful statement in our interview, saying “church is more than a building for me, it's a family”. Singing helped her grow so close to her church family that at her high school graduation party, she had more people from her church show up to support her than actual family members. This was such a powerful story because it shows how something as small as a hobby can turn into so much more. A community, a family, a second home. Aubrey didn’t just find her voice through music, she also found her confidence, her passion, her coping mechanism, and her home away from home.
This interview allowed me to meet such a bright, inspiring person who is so driven and passionate about everything she does. I was able to learn so much about Aubrey, from the fact that she wants to dedicate her life to working nonprofits to help people in her community, to how much she enjoys her “grandma hobbies” such as crocheting and baking. At the end of our interview, I asked her how she would describe herself in five words. A few of those words included “wise, determined, and compassionate” and I couldn’t agree more. While I found learning about her entire life powerful, the most impactful thing she said was “my biggest goal in life is to change the trajectory of at least one person’s life”. This statement alone shows her determination to impact her community in a positive way and it is truly inspiring how much she lives to serve others around her. As a Christian and being part of a church, serving others is something that is so vital to your faith and her will to serve is truly commendable. This feature story showed only a small portion of who Aubrey is as a person and I hope it reflects her authentic personality fully.
