Saturday was the big day! I left my house at 9.30am to get ready to set up at Stratford Circus. When I got there, it was good to see the whole team excited and ready for the big day ahead.

I was managing Circus 3, where the Open Mic sessions were held along with the Circle 33 showcase and the Dance workshop. It was good to keep myself busy during the daytime session- blowing up balloons for the Circle 33 stall (I’m surprised I had any air left in my lungs), getting people to join in with Remel London’s Open Mic sessions and making sure the room looked appealing to the eyes of the audience. It was a good experience because Remel is well-known in the music industry and she was an amazing host. She made the audience feel comfortable and complimented them on their musical skills. 

The evening showcase was really impressive with amazing talent up on stage. All of the acts were really friendly and polite and I shared some moments with some of them in the Green Room. I was with Hadija, Elenia and some of the I AM DV8 performers- Jordan King, Jerusha and Phoenix (from Milky Town). We were all choosing songs to take turns in singing. We asked Jerusha to sing ‘Beyonce- Halo’, it built goosebumps on my skin and tears in my eyes. Then, Hadija sang ‘Beyonce- Irreplaceable’ and it was amazing- it made me realise how much I am going to miss her. Elenia used her wacky sense of humour to keep me laughing the whole night, I am really going to miss these girls :(   

This was the best day I have had in a while because I shared the day with my amazing team, creating memories and enjoying our last event together. Everyone was so supportive and it was good to have my mum, dad, sister, brothers and my boyfriend there to see how I have grown since I have been on the course. When the whole class stood on stage to give our speech, it was so different from when I last stood on stage. The atmosphere was so different, it was so much friendlier and I felt more comfortable sharing my experiences with people I had took the time to get to know in this unforgettable year. It was a really emotional day. I was up and down all day- one minute  I was stressed and the next minute, I was impatiently waiting to jump on stage. Danielle cried and it hit me how much I am going to miss everyone, I love Danielle and the rest of the team so much and I can’t thank everyone enough! It’s going to take Dv8 a lot to get rid of me and this is just the beginning of my journey into the creative industry. 

This week, I have been keeping myself occupied writing songs for a mixtape I am hoping to start working on this year. The mixtape will be called ‘From caterpillar to butterfly’ and will feature some emotional songs about how I have developed as a person and how Dv8 has helped me to create my self-confidence and allowing me to appreciate myself. 

I received an email on Monday from Dan Savidge, inviting me down to ‘Somerset House’s What Next artist showcase’ on Tuesday 3rd July at 7.30pm. Selected artists from previous ‘What Next Songwriter’s Day’ were chosen to perform on the 3rd July and it is also an opportunity for people who were involved to do some networking.

I am looking forward to going down there as it will be good to socialise with other young people interested in music and events and I will also be promoting I AM DV8 on the day and inviting people to come along. 

I didn’t really do much in the half term week. On Saturday 2nd June, I stayed round Billie’s for the Jubilee weekend for her street party. However, the weather was dreadful so we stayed inside the majority of the day. 

I have been working on some new songs and have been looking after my mum as she has been really ill with kidney stones, so she had to have an operation to have them removed.

I went and stayed with my aunt and took my little cousins out and treated them. It was good to spend some time with my family and catch up. :) 

The song I chosen for this week is ‘Nas- Daughters’.

I thought it had a very good storyline and had deep meaning. Having a child can be stressful- especially having a daughter, there’s so much more to worry about. 

Having a child is the best thing in the world, but you have to be wary at all times. It’s a cold world out there and you have to do your best to try and protect them. Even if it kills you. That’s why I thought it was a good song with a brilliant concept.

Yesterday, Fusion and Ian (part of Dv8 staff), selected four students from MIP Level 2 to come along and be part of a presentation. The presentation was at Barclays in Canary Wharf and we went and pitched our ideas for an event called ‘EPOX’. Ryan, Emmanuel, Matthew and myself were the lucky ones chosen to come along and had the privilege to tell them about our experiences with Dv8 and how those experiences have helped us grow. 

At first I felt really nervous as if I was a mouse in a lion’s cage, but they made us feel really welcome and comfortable. It felt really amazing to be able to tell them about my experiences with Dv8 and how it has helped me grow. They got to know why Dv8 is so well-known for all of its hard work over the years.

It was a really good day to start with and it got even better when we got back to college for the ‘Paparazzi Party’. We had food and drinks that everyone devoured quickly and then we had amazing performances from Luciee, Stunna and Remy Martinz, who will all be performing at the ‘I Am Dv8’ festival on the 7th July 2012.

It was an eventful day and it has been one of the best days I have had so far. 

As the weeks have developed since Fusion told me about the Run Dem Crew project, my ideas have also started progressing.

I started thinking of a few ideas for the Run Dem Crew sessions. Below I will list a few of the ideas I created:

- 12 minute run: Hire out a hall (preferably a P.E hall) and get the stopwatch timed for 12 minutes and continuously run or jog for the consistent amount of time, whilst playing music in the background to keep the team focused and energised. 

- Sports day idea: Organise a sports day at a local primary school. Each RDC team member to create a power team of school students and each group will compete to win medals, certificates etc.

I am really excited to be working on this project because it will build up my confidence and allows me to share my creativity by working in a team.

Yesterday, the whole Eastside Stories team came into college to explain the concept of ‘I Am Dv8’ to the Dv8 staff members. 

It was a really good experience as we started it off with some ice-breaker games and got them involved. They seemed to really enjoy it which made us feel good. I gave a short speech on what Dv8 means to me and how far I have come since the Level 1 course. 

I think everyone did really well and put in a lot of effort and it felt really nice to tell everyone what they mean to me and I hope to do more presentations like this in the future. 

So, the Easter holidays have come to an end. No more chocolate eggs for another year now :( 

It’s back to work now and I have to say I am pleased to be back at college so that my brain can actually start functioning properly again. My holidays were pretty uneventful, I just stayed with my aunt, did a bit of babysitting and writing some new lyrics. 

I can’t wait to start working on the event a bit more and I will be auditioning to perform, so hopefully that goes well. I have attached the audition flyer to this post so please forward and get people involved :) 

Since we had the meeting with Alexis about the apprenticeships, I have decided to let myself go a bit more and take opportunities when I find them. Hopefully, these opportunities will lead somewhere and make me more confident.

My tutor, Tephany sent me an e-mail about a Songwriter’s day on Saturday the 17th March. As soon as I read the e-mail, I was excited because I love songwriting. I finally managed to pluck up the courage to send an email back to Dan, saying that I’d love to take part.

They also said you can bring one guest, and I chose to bring my mum because she loves seeing what I do and learning a bit more about the business I will hopefully work in one day. I know she will encourage me and support me all the way, another reason why I chose her.

She also creates opportunities for me, because she saw an article saying that there would be auditions for people to star in London musicals and she signed me up because she thought it might boost my confidence and she also understand my love for singing. 

I am really thankful for all the opportunities I have been given the chance to take part in. I know my confidence will grow, I will feel more courageous and happier with myself.

I am really excited to say that I am part of an entertainment group organising parties, music events and dance competitions. A close friend of mine who was on the last course with me has set up her own entertainment group and has asked me to be involved. 

The company is an all-ladies group and we are dedicated to bringing the best entertainment to a variety of audiences. We are due to have a meeting soon to talk further about the aims of the company and what we hope to gain, so I am going to be working on some logo designs and other essentials that every entertainment group needs.

I will keep you updated with any work I get involved in and any other news from the group. :)