Meet Mariah Maynes

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mariah Maynes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mariah , we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
Honestly, I developed my confidence and self esteem from a combination of lacking those traits, faking them, and years of therapy.

I attended Utah catholic schools growing up, all the way until I graduated high school. During all those years, from when I was in kindergarten, I felt this heavy sense of comparison to my peers by most of my teachers — I always excelled in the arts and writing, and I was never good at math or science, and these skillsets were painted as “less than” by the schools I was attending. Therefore, I was always made to feel (whether or not intentional) like I’d never be successful. The exception to that were my high school music teachers.

The several music teachers I had in high school were some of the first people outside of my family who made me feel like I could be successful. I’m incredibly grateful to all of them for that. I remember feeling early feelings of success in high school marching band and percussion ensemble.

Throughout high school, I managed to convince everyone that I was confident and secure in who I was. I was a driven, hard working musician who was always on top of things. I remember one day in percussion ensemble, my director praised me for exuding confidence during my solos in front of the whole class. I accepted it, but inside, I felt the opposite.

I was an absolute anxious mess until about my junior year of college. I hid it really well, but deep down I struggled with concerns about what people thought of me, how I was perceived, and an incredibly large sense of impostor syndrome.

My first two years of college, I laid what I now see as the groundwork for my high levels of confidence and self esteem. It took a lot of journaling, encouragement from the professors (and mentors) at the University of Utah, and changing the channel in my brain, but I started to feel more and more genuine confidence. It really took the push from those professors, the ones who took the time to care about their students, not just the product their putting out during their music degrees, to find my own confidence to stand on my own. Their advice, that they gave to me, is the same advice I would give to the people coming up the path behind me. Be conscious and intentional in developing and cultivating your confidence. Stop comparing yourself to others, and know that as long as you aren’t hurting others or yourself, your motives and desires are valid. Know that its okay to be a three dimensional and multi faceted person, and embrace the journey of life.

When I was in my later college years, in the thick of being cancelled by many of my peers in the school of music, that I finally felt truly confident. I’d walked through absolute hell from having razor edged words hurled my way, but I still had myself. Positive self talk and affirmation from my mentors, friends, and family got me through it — but my ability to maintain confidence through some of my worst days (even on days I had to fake it, and believe me, there were several) and my ability to cultivate confidence when I needed to strengthen mine, was what helped me survive it.

One last thing — cultivating confidence is a lifelong process, just like learning and growing. Keep reassuring yourself, and know who you can lean on. Also, push yourself, even when you feel like you have to fake it. Wear the outfit, drive the car, sing the song, dye your hair pink — just stay true to yourself and be intentional and the rest will follow.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a musician and writer based in Salt Lake City, Utah. I graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts in Music, and I am currently working as a writer, performer, and teacher. I love collaborating and performing, so if you’re another SLC or Utah based artist reading this, I would LOVE to connect.

My second album is out on August 5th. I self wrote and entirely self produced it, and I’m very excited for the world to get to hear a body of work that is so deeply personal that I felt I had to play 100% of the notes and edit every minute by myself. It will be available on all streaming platforms, and I would be honored to have your readers give it a listen.

I’ve also been working on an archival collection of sorts, which is published on my second Instagram account, @maynesarchives. Basically, I’ve always wanted to release a poetry collection filled, and I was motivated to take the plunge when I bought a polaroid camera earlier this year. To get a deeper view into my perspective on the world, go give it a look.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back, my desire to work hard definitely got me where I am. When I feel like I can put my whole being into a project, I find that I become absorbed in the process. There have been several times where I’ve become addicted to the process — such as my second album. I spent every morning for the better part of nine months scribbling in my songbook, plunking away at the piano, until I finally felt like I’d said everything I needed to say.

I think my ability to learn new skills helped a lot too. During my college years, through several eye opening experiences, I learned not to be afraid of sucking. This has come in handy as I’ve learned new skills like producing and marketing. It’s a balance of knowing when to ask for help and not being afraid to dive in alone, and I feel like I do pretty well walking that balance.

As for the third, I think it would be my ability to remain adaptable and grow through failures. To make any goal a reality, you will face failures. You will get told you suck, slapped in the face, and pushed down. Sometimes by the task at hand, sometimes by the haters, and sometimes by yourself. It’s important to trust your judgement in knowing when to keep going, when to try something new, and when to pivot. Some of your readers might be wondering, ‘well how do I know?’ and to that I say – trust your gut. Ask yourself what worked well and what didn’t and what you could learn, and get back up and try again. Along the process of achieving any important goal, you will probably fall down, and the impact might even make you bleed, but it doesn’t matter. Get back up, take care of yourself and keep moving.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
Definitely being well rounded. We’ve all heard the saying “a jack of all trades is a master of none.” Well, there’s a second part to that; “a jack of all trades is a master of none, but still better than a master of one.” (Yes, I learned that from the internet. I’m a 22 year old, don’t judge me, because it resonates strongly)

I’ve watched so many people — skilled people at that — run themselves into the ground because they refuse to learn new skills. They refuse to adapt to the industry. That’s actually my biggest gripe with music schools and their current curriculums — sure, they make you a good player, but only in classical music, and they only make you a good player. They (generally) do not give you adequate business skills, they don’t help you develop proficiency in other styles, and they put you in a box that becomes way harder to escape when you graduate. Of course, it should be noted that there are exceptions, such as the two awesome professors I’m going to mention next.

I’m incredibly, INCREDIBLY grateful for two professors I studied under at the University of Utah’s School of Music. Truly, the mentorship and guidance of Dr. Mike Sammons and professor Kelly Wallis showed me the importance of being excellent at what you do, and the importance of being proficiently well rounded. Their mentorship helped me get to where I am today, and they inspired me to keep pushing.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Grad Stole: Emily Treasure (@emilytreasurephoto) Show Pic: Erin Blockston

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