Spotlight: Natasha Walia
How her school has dealt with the pandemic and how quarantine has affected her songwriting.
Welcome back to my newsletter! I’m so excited to introduce you to this week’s spotlight interview. I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Natasha Walia a first-year student at The New School in NYC. Originally from California, she talks with me one-on-one about how her school has been handling student’s mental health during this crisis and how her creative process as a songwriter has been during quarantine.
(Side note: New Jersey had a huge thunderstorm the time our interview was scheduled and my wifi was acting up for hours following it. While I couldn’t conduct the interview over facetime we still had a great conversation over text messages. I hope you enjoy!)
N A T A S H A W A L I A
You attend The New School which is in NYC the epicenter of the coronavirus in the US. Do you feel that the institution prioritized their student’s safety when it came to moving out of the city?
“Surprisingly, it’t been a lot harder for me to make music since being in quarantine and relocating home. You would think all the free time would be a song writers dream but for me I’ve found it hard. I think my writing process is really reflective of my atmosphere and certain situations I am facing. Most of my writing is pretty in the moment as compared to being reflective, so it’s been a bit hard because life feels a bit stagnant”.
Being in quarantine for a month now do you feel that the school has been prioritizing students’ mental health correctly? Have they been communicating well with their students?
“I’m not sure, I think its dependent on each persons situation. Most of my teachers have been really understanding and open ended with due dates. However, I know a lot of other people don’t feel the same. I guess im pretty lucky to be in a state which I feel mentally stable enough to still handle school work”.
As a songwriter, I’d loved to hear how the process of making music has been like in quarantine.
“It’s been a bit hard during quarantine because I’m pretty collaborative when it comes to making music as I’ll usually make instrumentals side by side with my friends. But, I’ve been working remotely with a studio located in Brooklyn that I had been recording an EP with. I’ve also found time to work on a lot of features that I having been wanting to get started for the past few months but never hard the time for. Since I haven’t been writing as much in quarantine I can give you an overall breakdown of my process. I usually write my songs in the moment right after I’ve experienced that I am having a hard time coming to terms with emotionally. Like with my song “Man, F*** New York” I wrote that in an Uber on the way to Brooklyn while I had just had a mental breakdown after deciding maybe it was best for me to drop out of college. Every song writers process is different, a lot of people force themselves to write everyday but I don’t work like that. When I force myself to write it usually never ends up being productive”.
Do you feel more or less creative now?
“It goes in waves, some days I wake up and I am like, “today is the day, I’m going to get everything done.” Other days I just stare into the endless void of Instagram.”.
There has been much debate about productivity and how since people are home now, that they should do as much as they can. Do you feel as if this is harmful? Why?
“I think thats super harmful, why should we have to do anything? That mindset is a product of capitalism and that needs to change. It’s definitely easy to compare yourself to peoples productivity level right now and I find myself slipping into that habit too. Do what you want! Get work done or don’t. At this point I question, what will matter in the future?”
As a creative, is it okay to not be productive right now?
“Totally! We all need a break from being creative right now. You don’t need to create a masterpiece right now. Do what feels right to you and don’t compare yourself to what you’re seeing.”
Advice for any other college student who is currently struggling during this pandemic?
“Stay in touch with your friends and keep up with a routine similar to what you were doing at school. I also think if being at home is a harmful environment for your mental health in that in your living space triggers trauma, just know you’re not alone. This is definitely going to be a hard time for everyone but reach out to resources that are available to you, even if its a friend. I know for a lot of college students that moved to NYC it feels regressive to move back home because we all dreamed of being our authentic selves in the city. Just remember you still are that person and you don’t have to talk to people from back home!”
This week’s interview with Natasha was a contrast with the one I did with Vernon last week and I think it’s super important for my readers to see that everyone’s experience with this virus is going to be completely different. While some may feel bursts of productivity while in quarantine, some may not and that is okay. What you’re feeling right now is valid and heard and experiencing these emotions is normal.
S Y S T E M S: AND THEIR IMPORTANCE
What are systems? According to Google: Systems are: “a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network”. In my News, Narrative, and Design class while I familiarize myself with this term and what it means, I realize how important it is while curating my newsletter. In these systems, I believe the most important part is interconnectedness and how people can relate and rely on each other. I made this newsletter for and about college students currently struggling during this weird time they’re in. However, these students are part of a much bigger picture than they actually realize. During this pandemic, I haven’t seen much coverage on how college students are truly doing. Many have been kicked out of their housing, forced to do online classes, and had their entire routines taken away from them in an instant. Every student in college right now is part of the US Education System. Some institutions have been handling the situation better than others, and this virus is shining a light on how this education system is not prioritizing college students.
THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
I was told during our interview that Natasha will be releasing a new song on May 1st! These days it may seem like the days go by and there’s nothing to look forward to but now we do! Support small artists in this time of uncertainty let the power of music help you during this global crisis.
Support Natasha here on Spotify!: