And my laughter, it made you believe,
That despite all the hurt and pain,
Some things never leave.
Like the beauty of those stars I’d always talk about,
And make my wishes on,
Needing something to dream upon.
Above are the beautiful lyrics from a verse of the original song Is She Me. Sophomore Leora Friedman wrote this song with young boys and girls suffering with illnesses in hospitals all around the country in mind. At the young age of fifteen, Leora and her sister combined their musical ability and compassion for pediatric patients to found Music is Medicine. Today Music is Medicine has 8 albums with 8 to 10 songs each. What started as a local community service project has expanded into a nation-wide movement.
HCP: What led to the founding of MiM?
LF: I loved Taylor Swift and writing songs and music. We (my sister and I) thought of the idea, and I loved that it combined two things I love and can impact people in such a great way.
HCP: What can we expect from MiM in the future?
LF: We want to start a celebrity project. Celebrities can donate a song to a disease of a child. I was actually on the phone with Drew Seeley. He is currently wrote a song for Brook, a 13 year old child with cancer at Johns Hopkins. It is recorded; it’s currently being mastered. It is an inspirational song for her, about her, but it can relate to a lot more people. Hopefully everything will be put together by November. He wants to make a music video for it!
HCP: Anything else?
LF: Also we want to empower teens to give back with more branches. This fall I’m looking for a good group of people to help form a Princeton branch. You don’t only have to write songs, you can have a benefit concert or give a music lesson. San Diego University, they are trying to become an official group on campus.
HCP: Are you facing any challenges with MiM?
LF: Balancing my life with this is a challenge. I’m a student first.
HCP: Any advice to teens also trying to start cool projects?
LF: Being a young person, some people doubt you and might not take you seriously, but you should stay passionate and it will work out.
Not only is Leora an inspiration but also the girl has some serious pipes!
Check out her live performance of Is She Me.
If you would like to join Princeton’s branch of Music is Medicine, email Leora at lnfriedm@princeton.edu.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Princeton chapter.