Young woman writes songs to overcome bullying

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Some nights at 3 a.m., while most other people in The Woodlands are sleeping soundly in their beds, Samira Rajabi, 19, can be found in her room discovering new chords and sounds by exploring the ivory keys on her keyboard and singing melodies that catch her unaware. Despite the looming college classes she has to face in the morning, Rajabi has already made a vow to herself to never go a day without making music. She keeps this promise sacred.

Rajabi’s stamina and perseverance is one of the products of almost a lifetime of bullying. She refuses to let anything get in the way of her and her big dreams, even if it means being tired 24/7. However, it wasn’t always this way.

Beginning in kindergarten, Rajabi began being bullied for her weight. Kids would tease her for being a chubby kid. During sixth grade and beyond, Rajabi then began being bullied for her race.

“I went to [school in] The Woodlands, which is predominately white,” she said. “[Some] people joked about how I was black and Middle Eastern. They would say, ‘you’re so bad!’”

Fortunately, she was not hurt physically, but explains, “verbal abuse is almost the same as getting punched in the face.”

Rajabi never told a teacher or her parents what was really going on in school, but she admits that it probably would’ve stopped faster if she had mentioned it to somebody.

One day while writing in her journal, the words on the page in front of her turned into a song. She then began to play a few chords on her keyboard and soon her journal entry was transformed into music. Rajabi was now addicted to writing songs.

Songs became her “yoga” and “meditation.” If she didn’t write songs, she confesses she wouldn’t be sane.

“Thank the Lord it was music and not drugs to take my mind off of things,” she said.

Rajabi has written over a hundred songs from junior year of high school to her present sophomore year in college; however, a good 55 of them will never be published. Nonetheless, she never gets rid of songs and admits she still has songs that she wrote when she was nine. She encourages people to never get rid of their work.

Rajabi uses her keyboard, Garage Band (Mac Program), and her voice to produce her music. Her keyboard is the main source of producing chords and Garage Band is where she gets all the instruments that she doesn’t have.

“It sounds best when [my music is] played live,” she said.

One of Rajabi’s songs about bullying is “I Am Okay,” which is more of a pop song. In the song, people are asking her if she okay, but she wants them to leave her alone as she is trying to hide that she is being bullied. She doesn’t want to express her feelings to the people that care about her the most when she absolutely should.

Some of Rajabi’s other songs are “Friend Zone,” “I Know Why,” and “Layers.” Many of her songs are also inspired by love, life, beauty, and relationships, as well as by artists such as Erykah Badu and Jill Scott.

Rajabi began receiving recognition for her music during the summer after high school graduation. That was also around the time when she created her YouTube and Facebook page. She has also performed at different clubs, events for school, and has even been asked on an unsigned artists tour, though she hasn’t had her ‘big break’ yet.

Rajabi is assured that if she ever acquires fame, she will use it to inspire people. She is aware that children look up to her and wants to set a good example for them.

“Many songs [on the radio] don’t have a moral or a lesson. It’s all about having fun, making money, and drinking,” Rajabi said. “Whether or not you’d like to admit it, our youth’s minds are being poisoned by a lot of things in the industry.”

Furthermore, Rajabi believes that getting an education is extremely important. She is a chemical engineering major because she loves math and chemistry.

“I can’t say chemical engineering is a Plan B, but it’s like a Co-Plan A,” Rajabi said, “If I make music my career, that’d be great and if I could be a chemical engineer, that’d be great too.”

Staying true to oneself resonates with Rajabi and she claims that determination, motivation, and action are the three things she keeps in mind along with her faith in God.

“No matter if I am famous with music or if I am a chemical engineer, I will definitely be singing somewhere. Whether it is over my baby’s crib or at Carnegie Hall.”