Before we begin, I'd like to introduce myself.

Hi, my name is Kai Karen Slider. Incase you're wondering, no. I have no clue why I was named Kai if I get a normal middle name with something like Karen. I was born in 1981 In a small town called Ambers. Ambers now is this really nice place that makes you feel like a friend with everyone, and it's nice. However, it's only been like this for about a decade. When I was a kid, yeah... It wasn't the best.

So what comes to mind when you think of the 80s? Well, you obviously think of Micheal Jackson, the NES, Pogs, Mullets, Action Movies, stuff like that. Well, let me first state that this was 1981. So that meant that we weren't full 80s like it would soon become. Heck, kids still played Ataris! Not only that, but they could afford things. Where I grew up, We were very poor. We could barely pay enough for rent, much less Pogs or video games! If you wanted to get something, you would have to be super lucky, like it was your birthday or something.

"La la la!" I sing, skipping home from preschool holding my mom's hand. She didn't seem too happy, and even 4 year old me could see that. "Mom, what's wrong?" I ask my mom, staring into her blue eyes. My mom looks down at the ground. "Nothing sweetheart. I'm just thinking about paying rent." She would say. Though, she says this every time I ask her! 4 year old me always believed my mom, but something broke the ice, and I knew something had been up. "Mommy, tell me. What's going on?" I ask. My mom looks at me with widened eyes, surprised that her excuses wouldn't work anymore. My mom sighs, bends down, and talks to me in an almost sad tone. "Ok, how do I put this for you?" She said, looking up. She then looks back down and tells me the truth. "Sweetie, I don't think we'll be able to afford you going to school anymore." She says, sadly. "Wha? Why?" "Well, we can barely pay off our rent, and we just barely have enough money to pay for school." "Well you can just get another job, and everything will be fine, right?" "I can, but then I won't be home as much, you'll have to be with your dad for a good while when I'd be working." "Oh, ok." I said, looking down. We continued going home, but I just stood by my mom and walked, thinking of ways to be able to afford going to school.

When I was younger, I was a genuinely a happy kid. Things would hardly get in my way. News would have to be really bad for me to get down and have a bad day. The news my mom hit me was making me upset, but I did get over it fairly quickly. Though we were living life just a paycheck away from poverty, I would still be there. I'd be the one skipping around humming a song after some tragic moments.

Here I am, 7 year old me in first grade. We were sitting in a circle, and talking about our lives.

"Hi everybody. My name is Shane. I'm 7. I like trains, playing on my dad's Atari, and making jokes." That's my good friend Shane. We've been friends since Pre-Kindergarten. I remember when we met, we were swinging and I made a joke because I was bored. We shared jokes back and forth, and he helps me calm down when I think of stressful things.

Shane looked down at his paper. "Oh wait, I gotta continue the thing." Shane went down on his list, and answered another question on the paper. "If I had one thousand dollars, I'd go to Disney Land! I'd also buy a lot of Legos. If I have any money left over, I'd give it to my mom because she works hard." He said, with a sound of child innocence. Everyone clapped, and now I was up.

"Oh, uh, H- Hello everyone! My name is Kai. I like, uh- let's see... I like playing on the playground, making jokes, and checking out the magazines at the corner store." I said. "If I had 1,000 dollars, I'd live in luxury. We'd live in a mansion! Life would be awesome! It's nothing like it is now!" I say. My teacher gave me some hard looks. "Kai, that's not nice. You still live a nice life." "Kinda." "Kai, you're being spoiled!" "Whatever." I reply.

Those moments are rare. I didn't always blurt out bad things on my life. I don't really know what happened, but I just did.

Sometimes, life opportunities are right in front of you and you need to go for it. This is exactly what happened for me a year later.

I was walking down the town with my mom, going into the local gas station, and I got a soda. I was sitting outside on a run down bench with my mom, just staring out into the cars going by on the cracked streets. A truck comes up to the parking area real close to us. It looked like a typical truck, and I didn't think much of it. I just sat there and thought about a cartoon I saw at the store one time on the TVs. The man got out of his truck and didn't turn it off, leaving the radio on. I was tapping my foot, just fidgeting around. The man in the truck put some gas into his truck and walked into the store.

And that's when I heard it.

It was a fun song. At first I was wiggling in my chair, hearing it squeak everytime I move. "Kai STOP!" My mom said to me. I begrudgingly lean back again, still doing things to the song that wouldn't annoy my mom.

You know you twist so fine!
Twist so fine!
Come on and twist a little closer!
And let me know that you're mine!
Well shake it up baby!
Twist and shout!

Eventually, I couldn't stand just staying there anymore. I got up and started dancing around. My mom was amused, and chuckled.

Cmon Cmon Cmon Cmon BABAY!
Come on baby!
Come on and work it out now!

I continued dancing, and the man walked out. Without even hesitating, I ran up to him. "Hi sir!" "Hi?" He said, confused. "Who made this song?!" I asked, excited for this answer. "Oh, this? That's The Beatles!" "Kai! Come over here right now!" My mom yelled at me. "Sorry for interrupting your day sir." I said happily, walking back to the bench. Sure, there's always songs that get people excited when they first hear it. Though, this was the first moment that I got interested in music.

That day, The Beatles became a huge influence in my life.

Everytime I'd go somewhere and there's a radio, I'd pray that The Beatles come on. If I was lucky enough, I'd dance and have an amazing time. I remember one time I was with Shane when "All You Need Is Love" came on. We both broke into dance, and I sang along.

"There's nothing you can sing that can't be sung!
Nothing you can do that can't be done!
Nothing you can say
But you can learn to play the game
IT'S EAASY!" I'd sing.

The Beatles were a huge influence on me. I had gotten huge into music and gotten into artists like The Monkees and Def Leppord.

It was great.

Music was there for me.

If something bad happened, I'd listen to music to cheer myself up.

Landlord yells at us again? Music.

Mom works too late? Music.

Someone gets hurt and we can't afford the medical care? Music.

Music was my everything.

When I was 9, I got wood that fell near the playground. I got some shoe strings, and made a little guitar. On a weekend, Shane even came over with some black paint. We made a little microphone, and had a little band. We really wanted to make music too. We even had a band name: The KS Group. KS meant Kai-Shane. Our parents ate it up, but I don't really remember much of it. My parents couldn't afford a camera, or anything like that. Our equipment broke a couple months later, but I was always happy during my childhood.

Until...