My intangible stress ball
Comfortable enough to request a selfie with the audience? The ‘Fearlessly Authentic’ Alicia Bautista has become ‘in tune’ with her fans and patients thanks to APhA–ASP. (Photo by Ray-MacDonald.com)
If a commuter or tourist cruising behind me sees my “Music is the soul of life” bumper sticker, I am most likely headed home to toss away my white coat and slip into nightlife attire. Are you wondering what my second career is? I am an unsigned, independent singer–songwriter navigating the changing music industry.
‘In tune’ with my audience
In 2013, as a sophomore in high school, I released my first single, “Learn to Love Myself,” to iTunes and all major platforms. My second single came out in 2016, “Another Light,” a Christian song I wrote to tell the world the important message of loving others through faith. Aside from my limited recording experience, I refer to myself as a performing artist, as my prime source of income stems from live cover-song shows in the Lake George to Albany region of New York. To the stage, I bring guitar, harmonica, and vocals, and put a twist on all your favorite songs by artists from Neil Young to Ed Sheeran. My most notable successes have been sharing the stage with renowned artists like Lifehouse, Sawyer Fredricks, We the Kings, and Lindsay Ell at various concert venues within Siena College and Jennings Landing in Albany.
My love of music began as a toddler, when I wore bedazzled dresses, too much hairspray, and twirled around for pageant cameras. At age 4, I dressed up as an orphan and shyly sang “Castle on the Cloud,” from the acclaimed musical Les Miserables.
Although I started performing music at such a young age, I did not envision pursuing this as a career until I picked up the guitar in sixth grade. At that moment, I found an outlet that allowed me to express my entire heart without speaking a word. Performing behind my guitar has been my crutch in becoming a skilled communicator and entertainer. It is comforting for me, and something I can fixate my nerves on as I sing in front of a crowd, much like a nervous speaker may grasp the podium during a lecture. With each performance, I have become more animated and “in tune” with my audience.
Knocks down walls
These skills have proven to carry over into my professional life as a pharmacy intern and President of the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences’ APhA–ASP Chapter. Growing up, I never imagined I would occupy such impactful positions due to my timid demeanor, but music has knocked down every wall.
Attending APhA2019 as one of the “Student Pharmacists Got Talent” performers and Chapter Delegate was surreal as it wove together my two strongest passions of patient care and performing. Through loading my guitar on the flight from Albany to Seattle, carrying it up the hilly terrain to my hotel room, and ordering an Uber XL to the convention center to accommodate my “fifth limb,” I realized something immensely important: music was never a hobby, as I have been told by some. It is indeed my second career. Music is my intangible stress ball, rejuvenating me so I can serve others with medicine and a smile. After those pesky student loans are paid, I look forward to starting my own nonprofit music studio. Scouting young prospective musicians appears to be a lost art, and I want to use the resources I have to bring this back to the music world. In the meantime, I am taking recording lessons, acquiring simple gear, and writing prolifically.
The joy of being extremely comfortable in front of thousands of people? Comfortable enough to tell a silly joke and request a selfie with everyone? I owe that to the pharmacy home I have established within APhA–ASP, a home that not only rejoices in medication-related successes, but one that encourages students to be “Fearlessly Authentic” in doing so.
Alicia Bautista is a third-year PharmD candidate at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.