We recently connected with C.L. Wages and have shared our conversation below.
C.L., we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Resilience is something that resonates very highly with me. To be transparent, I have failed quite a lot, mainly under the guise that I “just wasn’t ready.” In high school, I auditioned for plays and solos frequently, and never once was I selected. From many perspectives, favoritism ran rampant in my high school choir, something that many of my peers attributed to not getting selected. Despite this, I always found that making music was more important, and though I never had the spotlight, it never stopped me from continuing to pursue the thing that made me happy.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As of right now, I make music for myself, and share it with whoever chooses to listen. Not only to I sing and write original songs, I also frequently create designs for tattoos, I’ve had plenty of happy customers in that venture.
It’s easy to not feel special or important, especially in this world where exceptional people are shared every day on social media. I feel that I have such a rounded personality, with being in school for Special Education, I have a particularly unique combination of talents, hobbies, and interests, and they all come together in a way that’s quite beautiful.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think being able to stay true to yourself, and make/do things that make you happy and not just catering to the general public is important. It’s easy to get taken by trends and make things that are similar to things others make, but if it doesn’t make you happy, then your art/work isn’t doing YOU any justice. Not only that, I think knowing how to talk to people is very important. People know people, so bringing a positive light to the world as much as you can, is imperative in making the connections that will get you further.
Resilience is also very important. If you don’t know how to fail gracefully, you will never learn and grow from mistakes or errors you have made. You have to be familiar with the feeling, because if you aren’t, it sets you up for a lot of discouragement, and that can be detrimental to being able to continue doing what you love.
My biggest piece of advice is keep going. If it makes you happy, and brings you joy, keep going.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
As ironic and counter intuitive as it sounds, my biggest obstacle right now is school. I am in my last three semesters at UTSA so my course load and expectations are fairly heavy, and it unfortunately doesn’t leave me a lot of spare time to create. Like I said, I’m in my last three semesters, so the goal is to push through to graduation, and create as much as I can along the way.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/see_doubleuu
- Twitter: twitter.com/see_doubleuu
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3D9MZMrjFMt0pwRonJvSbg
- Other: TikTok.com/see_doubleuu
