## The [Songwriter's Challenge](https://steemit.com/openmic/@luzcypher/open-mic-songwriters-challenge-week-4-because-we-can) is in full swing, four weeks in, and it's pretty much all I think about anymore.
https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://s18.postimg.org/9t4vtve49/Open_Mic_Songwriters_Challenge_Win_AGuitar_week_4_because_we_can_1.png
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## @Meno is the mastermind behind this incredible challenge. His generous offer to award a guitar to the winner has been a huge motivational force for the contestants. I believe that this Songwriter's Challenge will go down in Steem history. Literally *hundreds* of beautiful pieces of original music will have been created as result.
***
<center>![hello.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmd2bJm4xyJLtkKupfj7S3vhiK83L97m439XW9Fq3hFVdg/hello.png)</center>
# My Musical Story
I'd like to share a little about my background. I've *never* considered myself a songwriter until the last few months on Steemit. I didn't write songs at all. I wrote poems sometimes, but only for the last year or so. I studied music when I was a kid, and I've always had a stong interest in music, but if you asked me a year ago if I thought I would ever be a *songwriter*? Nope. Creativity works in strange ways, and I never imagined that something like Steemit would come into my life.
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Years ago, I was an actor. I did musical theatre, dinner theatre, outdoor theatre, classical theatre. I was beginning to make a career (struggling moocher), when I left it behind completely for reasons I don't fully understand. I've told a lot of people a lot of different reasons why I left, but looking back now, it all boils down to confidence. I didn't have it. 
<center>![shrug.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVcoArWqFHKzrbCKWGCwajrfwkgVFbAdXy5zesvPgqUza/shrug.png)</center>
I'm incredibly happy that my wife and I moved to the mountains, completely changing our lives so many years ago. My wife is @carrieallen. Follow her. She's awesome. I was living a basically art-free life for years, and comfortably. It felt like retirement, even though I still had to work for a living.
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![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/OH670HIQJb4MGh2EX6z7YZL5nF2gTAfFTuJbmdsdUZCeavtMaqaElDD2A0ZYN4cK-fxZUqMQu_pe-_C_PnxkUNsa30_oYd8RsAWWY-vvv9NQBQXBvX6Wsl_8me75tyvT2HQBcWQfbL5KtmCcLyok7yO0F6Pb1C_D0mgJ_UgLxvPSses1mxQ0_P7zQe02GTF1a7_v_wvqHaE0t-iVoWSBSX94morOAQPLb0GccdCjLwLFxPSlWlU1vKNlGNg-qTWqAGeaULzt40zz7P7zGHFqPhUI0WfXtrSNGy86nMxSrUEXKhFGohhzFYGrtFdXTEVkUxj1iEQqxQ-FQBoiuiz3BCc6U_b1yw0vRnSgMy8L7TfDI5XQRzJ11NuJ11lkiJOCOMuu2WBeXGYyJuBabGLdSAv5fBQHtlhkXcHocYaHFeelLobKEZGB_92Zs_HVEer2gtSaRXz_Hv94Pg9fUkGBlAEChAmjYthJXovGU7OgNlpryBnJCIo53u_zB-WaZyWqIbhihUJhx-rFNRn5k5dX7qTEAM2h1KKivlop5Jf-ubvXkYnT8MWVpTbkfFHEXU0cGzzWw_e5mEK7zA0e1r5uLS7wDFH7K7LTkZsusuAVpHg4gXq9yXRNHfxsgEH4SyKb0_AUEIi0J9kpHUZUcpTDLo8yOubLPokzaWE=w810-h607-no)
### With Steemit, I noticed early on that the best way to get engagement (besides huge investments) is to participate in contests. I have made some great friends and connections through contests on Steemit, and I've won a good chunk of SBD as well. More importantly, I realized with these contests that people *actually wanted to hear from me and support me.* This kind of blew my mind. Once I knew that I had the *incentivized support* of the Steemit community, the creativity started flowing like nobody's business!
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## I have always had a somewhat manic artistic... thing. As in, ***When it rains, it pours.*** That's why I'm writing songs nearly every day now. Today I wrote two, including my entry in the Challenge. The #OpenMic contest has given me confidence, motivation, inspiration. I'm so grateful that it's difficult to express.
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# I thought about doing a sappy speech before my song, but decided making a separate post might be best. So consider this post my sappy speech. I even wrote a pretty sappy song for the Challenge this week, on the theme of *Because We Can.* Check out my entry [here](https://steemit.com/openmic/@chrisroberts/open-mic-songwriter-s-challenge-week-4-because-we-can-original-song)!
<center>![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/yJCu-Yn2AdBCP3r8f5e7hvqki5SLFMeuxBA9tUqaS8NAIidMI0an4bxhXqH3XtH9ELnnLuc9k-zoSkF_qSvZxewvuEDxYXVfrzGE2jXKebqTDp0QP6OGR5HbOvsgcsKezVRLLAcepqGcyZ4SkaTnrHOwW5kNhRmr0GsjMc7fVjxKkWvBP6WFr40ouCpBqrUk4WLsqKZ5CED3cJN4JYQxRbWN1eHh4Ln1NZ9TVf7XpL_UuW9v7p1zQScwofVzlbhwmtSpI1etH6isjqQjFuJ-EA0CjAq_4KCHOvhtWYitq_ncph2bgEY2309brPOoNIYrjgm6nN8pd4nQguJ4Zuuj4Ci9HTsKCw6GN0BisNkU9Rt80uX0z5xVaCfZ1jiYe6jMDDPFBegQg8zKu3KOH9aCQeVGQ6BmZ8xx851CQSvyhbgX48Hh5F9IQmLFVfAMY4TJncMlwL3RrW93kTpCDVpEPlsuAfudBzrqpka-ri1ZW3QH_S62IsiZao3XFjSUAIyQEs_-L8RjxceauQWTpfS2ZNjVxQMaGgEPfda2tz9xC165jAEyp_ZHNLw7vepwWwEc4uHXd9lHYxdeLHIm6Ttgkt4QkCXGfuQhecEUOT94YohuGy_Xa0YW39WypxXa3nAS_3rnkvXARMtetqhilaHU0W4Hioj20tCKiWo=w810-h607-no)</center>
### <center> I'd like to thank the following judges for working so hard on curating and judging the entries in the #openmicsongwriters Challenge:
# @Meno
# @Passion-Ground
# @Krystle
# @Verbal-D
# And for hosting both #openmic and #openmicsongwriters:
# @Luzcypher</center>
# It's truly an honor to be part of this. Thank you.
</center>![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mlzv6HWDxdqmsDbqHnsRzeZvrpiBIaSChzAAfYqa5QeDhmtKMBa43Gc6uSPL5phJPGY_AjQPQyhbUtTfdvxvN8NZptn5iELq-6bS4JGnHyTNiWZnc-iPc-WOuBqZszZgVWTrfJceku1afNq-cuh9kNDoM-fjSWxCgC4ALi_vNSHCPZlpJNY1VYmWMOep2mROZdqVs35iw2BssS1uZJdx49U6fjDZ_D6r46I6X97A1hTQBMYoQ_1NYSYYSyyACoecgcACSnilIToZZtShPLuZfm6JaOjdsvNChbSAdXXWfKoT4k9avnK2rMZ6MBcB1QBzb6qlkfsGrE6jH96slNOUmMAc49evTpIOaAkmH9bIM-GeqjS0KiUeSkJ574_UAbcVTSC08r0cUucDHW5pf9ivjj28Q-NGn8bpEBRJYy-IehM4AUsYsvgU0lUzGdg8NavTGrJhxHqgvZ36PGboQ0OU1GXjoCCp74pMLJwSUMnoogwttPzXP6AN3-wTBcb43tMd4deED0gJPOc3Qwy4JVkb6S-eeChsVG0mHQdPyT_KKAv14lhwEKnnOwqjMr4nSr7uIHLCTbhYoRXpsAVfixAoByF5_fPI2BV7mOb81WHUGfP3z8vPljyGFF4abTAHCdvJWH13Qoz2LFPCmcNekcHljPbQKF95OrFDAag=w205-h47-no)</center>