Daily Inspiration: Meet Carolina Zapata

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolina Zapata.

Hi Carolina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I was always interested in music at a young age and obsessed with different instruments. I remember being 5 or 7 picking up a first-act guitar that was gifted to my brother, I would mess around with it and try to figure out how to play it. Though I would have to admit it never sounded good. I would continue to do this sporadically over time. At the age of 9, my mom put me in piano lessons and I was happy for about 3 lessons because the teacher would teach slowly. so, I gave up on the teacher and started learning piano through youtube videos. fast forward to when I was about 13/14, I decided I wanted to pick up the guitar again. So I would watch videos of people playing to try and figure it out. When my mom saw that I was really interested she decided to give it another go at getting me a guitar teacher and this one really stuck. He made me challenge myself and always made learning fun. by the time I got to high school I already knew how to play a handful of instruments and would attempt to write songs but they would never be good. I also always kept my music behind closed doors until I met two of my good friends from high school who pushed me to really chase music.

At 15 I would start writing songs with one of them (Nathaniel Giroux). He really opened my eyes to writing songs and ever since then we would cowrite and I would find my passion for songwriting. Once I opened up more with music and one of my teachers heard a song I wrote with Nate in my junior year of high school she told me that she loved the song and thought I had a true calling for songwriting. little did she know that what she said would really stick with me. After graduating I was stuck choosing between two good colleges for music. I later on decided which I would go to and ever since then I have continued writing for myself and others, and have since released my own music as well.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, not really. there’s never a smooth road with any career path anyone ends up choosing. There have been moments where I doubt myself and contemplate continuing this, but then I remember the feeling of when I’m writing and how I’ve always wanted to do this my entire life.

At the end of the day, there will always be a bunch of people who will love what you do and enjoy your work, and then others will try to tear you down and make you question whether or not it is your calling. I remember this one kid who said “you’re good, but you’re not good enough” that kinda brought me down and made me wonder, but it pushed me to become better at my craft. Then again, everything is opinion based and I learned that you have to take everything with a grain of salt.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a singer-songwriter currently based in Nashville. I am more known for mostly songwriting I presume, but I want to lean more toward becoming an artist as well.

I am most proud of an ep I will have coming out in 2023 that deals with mental health and the phases of depression and dealing with anxiety. I already have one song out that will be from that ep called “Haunted House.” That is also one thing I believe will set me apart from others. My first complete body of work will be mostly advocating for mental health.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
I think there have been sometimes when I have been at the right place at the right time. This has led me to connect to a bunch more people who are a part of the industry and who love music and writing just as much as I do.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__carolinazapata__/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100027009079588
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/carozapataaa
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCptAPcsI4-en0hzMnEqmauw
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-206092994
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6BsZH3ErsRlclwk40sFnJ0?si=IR1_ZZcLSWqs2Cj9UAf4Vg 

Image Credits
Cage Parrish and Matthew Zapata