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Jess Godwin

songwriting | DIY music videos | outreach
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  • The Major Lift
Jess Godwin
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Welcome!

Jess Godwin November 18, 2019 November 19, 2019

Hi there! I am a songwriter, performer, actor, teacher and a DIY music video maker. This past year, I launched two different businesses – a custom wedding song business and The Major Lift, a school and corporate team-building workshop that helps people build resilience and positivity through songwriting. Click around, enjoy some of my favorite videos, and say hi if you have any booking or coaching inquiries. Thanks again for stopping by!

findthelift

Instagram post 2197582359824582945_222767456 When you bang the piano so loud that the candle shatters, you can be sure of 2 things:

1. It was a bad day
2. The song is a banger

Day 8
Instagram post 2196752451246266558_222767456 Perpetually late. Sufficiently hydrated. Day 7
Instagram post 2194529650355484403_222767456 In today’s free write, my student wrote about having a late start, missing breakfast, and being hungry. To which I immediately said...ME TOO. 
We put a hold on writing, had yogurt and tea, and took care of ourselves as a team before we got to the work. It was a good way to start the day.

Today is for empathy, connection, and not getting it right all the time because no matter how put together we may look, NONE OF US DO!

Great segue into writing our song about perfection. Let’s get creative together, starting tomorrow! 
Day 4
Instagram post 2193993499311937347_222767456 Today, I created a space for myself to sing freely without expectation! 
The next step is this: sharing freely without expectation. Or explanation.

Hope you’re having a beautiful weekend and getting what you need. If it’s not coming from someone else, make it for yourself. Better yet, no matter what, make it for yourself anyway. ❤️ Day 3

#mymajorlift
Instagram post 2193198237782089129_222767456 Breaking out these limited edition teeth babies, because I buckled down, kept myself off of social media, Netflix, and out of my daily negativity spiral, and finished an authentically happy song at the piano this morning. Then I wrote aNOTHER song with the students of Mariano Azuela that made me feel SEEN. And just, bouncy and happy (it’s a snappy tune). Here’s their Major Lift, in their own words: “My anxiety 
Gets the best of me 
I can’t think I can’t breathe I can’t go to sleep 
I really wanna try
Some positivity 
But I’m stuck in negativity 
Tough Love
To keep me honest 
Trust and believe in me 
Tough love 
I’m gonna promise 
To trust and believe in me”

They all snapped and sang with their full hearts and voices, and it was just the most wonderful dose of joy right when I needed it. I think I appreciated it all the more, because I had already found some joy for myself before I walked into the classroom. 
My Major Lift today is understanding that the way I see the world and interact with people is entirely contingent on how I see myself.

Day 2.

#mymajorlift
Instagram post 2192428320107380889_222767456 Is your relationship with the past holding you back, too? “But they hurt me.” is a big reason I have been so afraid to confidently embrace my life and my art. Those people continued on with their lives...while I continue to play the rejection and failures over and over again in my head. Definitely didn’t “stick it to ‘em” doing that! I’m no longer letting that be a long list of excuses for why I’m not allowing myself to be happy and successful in the here and now. This is me holding myself accountable. I’m not always good at sticking to things because the self doubt kicks in, but I’m gonna start looking out and up like my life depends on it. My 37th birthday is in 73 days. Let’s see if I can flip my own narrative and step confidently into the next year of my life. You are welcome to join me in finding whatever it is you need that you’ve been missing. We’re all in this together, yeah? Day 1. #mymajorlift
Instagram post 2185826380476979753_222767456 When you decide to get better, some days can get frustrating...especially when the heavens don’t open up and say “YOU DECIDED TO GET BETTER HERE’S YOUR PRIZE”. Hang on to the little moments - they may not seem monumental, but the little stepping stones on your way up *do add up*. It may feel like you’re backtracking, or moving sideways, or you’ve even tumbled BELOW your lowest bottom on particularly bad days. Hang on, keep climbing, the mere act of trying means that you’re getting somewhere.
Instagram post 2185783528179101722_222767456 “I feel the broken inside my heart 
I feel the power inside my heart 
I’m not afraid of coming out my shell 
I finally found a way to break the spell”

I always love when students ask if they can play the piano. It gets messy and loud and wonderful! Here’s to you being messy, loud, and wonderful today.
Instagram post 2185780052619368680_222767456 It’s our first giving Tuesday - just in time for 6 workshops in Chicago Public Schools next week! Your one time tax-exempt donation will help us grow and start us out on the right foot in 2020! Link in bio 🌺
Instagram post 2182886062274248316_222767456 2009/2010. Photo 1 was the gateway drug into the rabbit hole. Those 10 years decide whether or not they’re gonna be my trauma or my badge of honor on any given day. Now, more and more, I make the decision. Photo 2 is me in my natural habitat, doing my best to become a real person while I hold on to my art, the people that matter, and the lessons I learned along the way. Dogs help! #2009vs2019 #10yearchallence
Instagram post 2181514316635741102_222767456 The live has spoken! Thank you so much to EVERYONE who donated to The Major Lift in the past week to be entered in the custom song raffle...BUT THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE. Congrats to Mia Marie Aleli for being today’s winner! We will do more raffles in the future! What else should we raffle off? Tell me whatcha’d be excited about!
Instagram post 2180751393961359813_222767456 “If you really cared 
Neutral is brutal 
If you really cared 
Take a step and be useful 
If you really cared 
It can be beautiful 
We can work - work together 
We can work to make it better”

Missing these stars! I got to write a song with students from all over the world with @genesisatthecrossroads this summer. Their lyrics still hit me today.
Instagram post 2180236062360816504_222767456 There’s still time to win your very own custom song! I’ll interview ya and record it just in time for Christmas. Donate any amount to TML to help us get into schools in need TONIGHT, and you will be entered into a raffle to win one tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far!
Instagram post 2180055877804043813_222767456 the you underneath the “perfect you” is way more interesting and so, very, ABSOLUTELY enough. .
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#themajorlift #teambuilding #corporateteambuilding #schoolassembly #schoolperformance #teacher #educator #musicteacher #musiceducator #brenebrown #grit #shame #songwriting #musictherapy #positivity #happiness #selflove #strength #students #chicagoschools #cps #chicagopublicschools #afterschoolprogram #musicprogram #musiceducation #middleschool #pianist #musictheory #choirteacher #teachers
Instagram post 2179974137479673514_222767456 Today at noon: if not for the music, come to watch me chug 3 glasses of sparkling grape juice in 17 seconds 🤢 @localcelebrity @gabe_ruiz
Instagram post 2179372093752394122_222767456 HIGHLIGHT REEL IS OUT TOMORROW!!! Get ready to watch me be the most terrible, perfect version of myself with the help of @localcelebrity and @gabe_ruiz. Here’s some BTS taken by @bethannbarbieri #IMTIREDOFTRYINGTOBEPERFECT
Instagram post 2179347690536649737_222767456 ‪When Are You Gonna Get Married: THE MUSICAL! ft. Double Standards‬
Instagram post 2179320347793336720_222767456 “I don’t need your ‘yes’ cuz I already got it”

A Sunday reminder to say yes to yourself this week instead of waiting for someone else to say it to you ❤️ There’s something in the air lately - I can’t tell you how many pep talks I’ve given to students (young and old) about rejections, failures, and the big one - NOT GETTING THE JOB after all of the work we put into it. 
When these big heartbreaks happen, I always tell students to pivot and MAKE SOMETHING FOR THEMSELVES. Remembering that when the people at the top give us a no, we still have the opportunity to say YES to ourselves. And that yes is the only one that matters. It’s something that I have to CONSTANTLY remind myself of, which...ya know, I’d love to say I wrote it to empower y’all, but I really wrote it because taking back that power is a DAILY STRUGGLE.

If you say yes to yourself today, comment with a YES!  Big thanks to @wearenovation for this fun collab!
Instagram post 2177257617297046230_222767456 Ready for segment 2? The theme, starting next Monday, is PERFECTION. Have something to say about it? I definitely do 😂. Submit your art, stories, songs, videos - link in bio - and we will host and share your work!
Instagram post 2176504918960150985_222767456 Want to win a custom song for you or a loved one? All donors between now and Monday will be entered into a raffle to win a free recorded and produced original based on an interview with YOU ($600 value)! So far, we’ve only got 15 people in the race, so the odds are looking pretty good! Any amount gets you in the game! Link in bio :).
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