A little girl sits in front of a computer, hits record, and starts singing, and she has not stopped singing since. That not-so-little-anymore girl is now a senior at Westridge and her name is Sydney S. 

Sydney has been involved in music and art for as long as she can remember. Most recently, she wrote the songs for Uniquely Nova: The Musical. On May 23, Uniquely Nova by Sydney and Editor-In-Chief Valentina V. ’26 had a staged reading on campus with Westridge students acting and performing Sydney’s songs.

Uniquely Nova has consumed much of Sydney’s free time for over a year and recently ramped up further in preparation for the staged reading. Sydney wants the songs in Uniquely Nova to show others that all feelings are valid and powerful. Sydney’s  songs allow her to voice her emotions and she wants others to be able to do the same. “I hope I encourage people to find words for how they feel,” she said.

 Uniquely Nova is important to Sydney for many reasons, but she hopes that the musical will let people know how passionate young artists are and how valuable it is to support them.

Whether she is songwriting, singing, playing piano, or performing, Sydney has loved art and music all her life. “I started songwriting when I started walking and talking. Singing was just there,” she said. 

Although Sydney has been passionate about music her entire life, she grew up in a family that did not always share her same interests. “[Having a family of non-artists] makes me feel honestly, alone in my art, which isn’t a bad thing necessarily, because it lets me focus on it a lot,” she said. 

While growing up, the lack of artistic representation made Sydney afraid to share her songs. However, Westridge showed her that she was not alone in her art and that other artists were everywhere. Sydney has found a community of artists at Westridge that she lacks at home. She has multiple friends who are songwriters and found an even greater community in everyone who made Uniquely Nova possible.

Connection to others is very important to Sydney, but her songs are for herself. “I write first and foremost for myself: what I want to hear, what I’m feeling, what I need to process,” she said. 

Sydney has processed her feelings through songwriting for all her life, from singing about her school days when she was younger to singing about more complex emotions and relationships today. Sydney also utilizes her songwriting skills and creativity in journaling everyday to work through whatever emotions she needs to. 

Putting herself and her wellbeing first keeps Sydney centered in her projects. “I’ve tried to process my feelings creatively before I share them with other people, and that helps me feel more in control of things,” she said. 

Songwriting and creating music are extremely competitive industries, but Sydney believes that putting herself out there is worth it in order to do what she loves. She has recently released two singles, “Incipient Summer” and “Hometown Views,” on Spotify and Apple Music under the name Sydney Bray. “Pursuing art is scary, but doing art is so comforting at the same time,” she said. When Sydney experiences anxiety and feels overwhelmed by competition in the industry and at Westridge, songwriting is her safe space. 

Next year, Sydney will attend the Berklee College of Music where she will major in songwriting and music education. She said, “I’m really excited to be in a whole school that’s focused on creativity. I think that’s gonna feel super healing…I’m ready.”