Hello SingSnap!
Are you excited to get to know another staff member? Today I will be talking with our newest teammate, SingSnap Membership Coordinator & Customer Service Representative, mother and music lover: Amanda!
An interview with Amanda
K: Would you mind telling us something about yourself?
Amanda: I’m the newest member of the SingSnap team, and it’s been fantastic so far! Everybody’s welcomed me in, and they know I’m enthusiastic about everything I do- if I get involved with anything, I’ve got two feet in. I really don’t have a lot of time, I like to keep myself busy, but when I find a minute for myself I like to head out into the bush, and just ground myself in nature, listening to the sounds of it, and taking everything in. I also like to bring some music along, because to me the best thing in the world is to just have space to sing my soul out. I have some traditional hobbies too, like cross stitching. My mom got me my first stitching kit when I was 11, and I’ve made a picture of a little bear saying “Love ya!”. Since then I’ve done a lot of projects, I’m currently working on a small one, but I can’t tell you what it is because it’s a surprise for someone specialThese are my hobbies, but the most important thing to me are my kids.
K: How many kids do you have?
Amanda: I have three. My oldest is 16, he’s a headstrong teen. He mostly lives with his dad. My little guy is almost 5 and he keeps me on my toes. He's the type that will try anything, and has no fear when he's running around. He my little snuggler and loves his cuddles. My daughter is 13 and a half, and she’s my mini me! We love to go for drives together when we almost don’t talk to each other, we just have our tunes on that we sing along to, sometimes it’s me who’s singing, sometimes her, sometimes we sing together. That’s one of our favourite things to do together.
K: It seems that music is a big part of your life.
Amanda: Always has been! My mom loves oldies, my dad is a country fan, and back when I lived with my parents the radio was always on, even when nobody was home. When we went on family vacations to the cottage my cousin Donald always had the music playing in the cottage. And he’s a DJ, so he always chose very good music for us to listen to. I grew up with music. And I always have some tune playing in my head. And when I create playlists they are always all over the place, I can’t just choose one genre! And that’s why I love SingSnap, because there are so many popular genres here and so much variety, and people have different takes on each song, I absolute love being able to experience that.
K: You’re the newest member of our team. What was your first impression of SingSnap?
Amanda: I was nervous as heck! People here already knew each other, and know how SingSnap has been functioning since 2006…
K: I don’t know SingSnap that well either! I’m a new member too!
Amanda: You’re with me then! It was nerve wracking, jumping in into the community, I was nervous that a lot of people would be sceptical of me, and I worried that I wouldn’t be good enough. But the community has been very supportive, and I love meeting new people. I’ve became good friends with a lot of SingSnappers and formed relationships that I would have never formed if not for SingSnap.
K: Do you think that there is something special about the SingSnap community?
Amanda: I think it’s a very positive place. People encourage each other, and I only see positive comments on people’s recordings. People put so much effort into singing and others recognize that it takes courage to sing a song and post it online. In real life people often make snap judgements about how you look or how you dress, or what you sound like. But there is no such judgement on SingSnap, just encouragement.
K: Absolutely. You record pretty often, and I’m wondering about how you see SingSnap – is it just work or has it become a bigger part of your life?
Amanda: It’s definitely something much bigger. I used to be much more nervous about recording. I was encouraged to sing when I started this job. That scared the silies out of me! I’m quite shy and nervous, up until my teens I wouldn’t even ask for ketchup at the McDonalds counter. Now I know I’m an okay singer, but there are much more talented performers on SingSnap than me, but I’m okay with that! I’m just here to have fun, but singing is also a way for me to convey to people that I care about how I feel. I also find that the more I sing the more I get to know people on SingSnap and I get more inspired to keep singing and keep recording.
K: Is there anything you want to tell our community?
Amanda: Thank you for being so welcoming! The community and people I work with have made SingSnap a big part of my life and I hope it doesn’t end for a very long time.