This is part one of my nearly 4 hour conversation with Stephanie Kong aka Stephthelyricist. Stephanie met with me to talk just weeks before going to Nashville to perform for the heads of major record labels in hopes of landing a recording contract. Stephanie is 18 years old and a very talented and accomplished singer/songwriter.  She talks about her struggles growing up without any friends, what it was like to not have her parents support her at all and how she dealt with being bullied in school. She tells a heartbreaking story about finding someone she thought was a friend only to be let down in the end and how that affected her.  She opens up about her suicidal thoughts and her strained relationship with her siblings, including involving law enforcement.

This is an amazing underdog story and Stephanie's compassion and ability to forgive those that have wronged her is a true inspiration to us all. Please check her out on bandcamp, facebook, and Itunes.  Part 2 goes up next week with more of her life story and she even performs some live acoustic songs for us. Thanks for listening!