One day last year in 2016, my dad came home from work, physically and mentally drained, and he was lying down on his bed, facing the ceiling. He asked me, "Xyzsa, will you play me something, a song that you made up?" Up until that point, I had made only a handful of songs, but I thought about playing him my most recent song. It happened to be a song that I had asked God to help me make. So I played my ukulele and sang for my dad. I've never seen my dad cry before, but he did. I didn't want to ask what was wrong, but later he told me that it was because of the music, and he encouraged me to keep making music. There was a reason why I had asked God to help me make that song. I was going through my own struggles in life, trying to balance school and a very busy soccer life. My young successful soccer career kept me too busy to do anything else, which is why I had no music training other than 1 year of piano lessons when I was 6 years old. Needless to say, I cannot write nor read the music that I'm playing. I know it's important, so I intend to learn. Like others who play by ear, I just come up with whatever sounds great to me. When you create your own songs, everything from the music to the lyrics are your own and from your heart. I believe that there are no right or wrong notes or sounds in music. There are no limits when a person has great passion. Some have a hard time believing that 6 of the songs on this album were made within 2 weeks. The songs were inspired by world and personal events, from our nation's political or racial conflicts and natural disasters, to the discovery that I was going to have twin baby sisters. Just a few weeks ago, I learned how to use GarageBand, so I produced my music, all acoustic, no synthesized sounds, my voice make up the harmonies with the exception of "A Miracle of Love", a song I made with my sisters Anjel and Sophie. This song is special because it is dedicated to my twin baby sisters who are currently still in the hospital, after being there for over 3 months. Twins Devyn and Kevyn were born at 27 wks, only 1.5 lbs each. I believe in God’s miracles because of the struggles I’ve seen with my baby sisters. Please see the story on my YouTube channel. As a 14 year old girl, I am dreaming big, and I have a lot of wants. I want to make music that promotes positive change. I want to be a voice for others who are struggling through whatever. I want to use the musical gift God gave me to help others find and boldly share their gifts because THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE TO DO TOGETHER to inspire positive change in our world. So, I want YOU to join me in what I feel is going to be an amazing journey! Xyzsa Love Pagaduan Song Background: “Love Is the Name Of the World” - No matter who you are or where you come from, it doesn’t matter. We are all part of the same, human race. “Times Two” - Made the night before my parents’ gender-reveal party for my twin baby siblings. I guess you can say that I was very excited, we all were. “Medi-Sin” - Sometimes we can’t figure out what is dragging us down in life, and the pain and suffering can be too much to bear. Whatever it is, we are all assured that there is an answer. “Beautiful You” - We often envy others because we are not happy with how we look on the outside. True beauty is found within, and this realization is known to do wonders to your outer beauty. “Something Bigger” - Everyone has great purpose and is capable of doing amazing things. I used my favorite watermelon ukulele for this upbeat song. “Fighter Bound” - At 13, many girls hit their growth spurt. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one of them. This is for all of you who feel physically or mentally inadequate to do any particular task. Don’t forget about all the other gifts God gave you to accomplish your goals! “Chasing the Moon” - Dream big, but don’t stop there. We’ve all heard it before. We must take the steps necessary to achieve greatness that God intended for each and every one of you. “Ain’t Our Last Goodbye” - Dedicated to those who are dealing with a loved one who is ill or who has passed. “A Miracle of Love” - My sisters, Anjel, Sophie, and I sang this to our baby twin sisters, Devyn Joelle (DJ) and Kevyn Derby while they were in the NICU. The song got attention from hospital employees, which led to a live performance on a local TV news morning show.