Priscilla’s Place Series: “However, I slowly began to realise that this way of living wasn’t actually fun for me…” Feat Shae.

Priscilla: What was growing up like for you as daughter to Preachers and an Artiste?

Shae: It was quite guarded, especially being the first child. My parents tended to steer me away from a lot of the corruption that the secular world presents. For example vulgar music or inappropriate films/TV shows were not allowed. My parents really tried to keep my spirit as pure as they could for as long as they could before I began to really discover life for myself. Also, having preachers as parents instilled the fear of God in me from a very young age. This benefitted me greatly in terms of helping me to solidify the morals I choose to live by and just generally being the best person I can be. Personally, I am really grateful for the way my parents brought me up. I’m glad they didn’t allow me to be exposed to certain things too young, as I now see the negative effects of that looking around at the generation we live in today.

========================================================================

Priscilla: What do you think of your parents as Preachers?

Shae: I think that both of my parent’s have a God given gift for preaching. They both have different styles of preaching but are both effective and powerful in their own ways. My dad is naturally a very humorous man and I’ve found that when he preaches, he incorporates his sense of humour which, I believe, makes his message a lot more relatable to people as we can all connect with laughter. My mother, however, is the super passionate type. When she preaches it’s as though each word is specifically chosen for a reason and oozes power from the beginning to the end. All in all, I find both of my parents extremely captivating to watch while they preach and I always UNDERSTAND the message of their preaching, which I think is very important as many youths tend to zone out or find it hard to stay engaged during this part of church.

Priscilla: Did you pick up singing from your mum Or was it something that came naturally for you?

Shae: I think I picked up singing from my mum. I can’t remember ever making a distinct decision to start singing; it was just in me so it was probably hereditary. My family is very musical in general, we all have generally good singing voices and some of my siblings play the instruments too.

Priscilla: What kind of music do you intend doing? Are you going to be following your mum’s path?

Lyrics Video: True To You by Shae
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVPmdxic3K8

Shae: I do really love gospel music and everything my mum is doing with hers, however, I believe my calling is to write real, relatable music about relevant situations. I notice stuffs currently happening around me and I’ve always been good at and naturally been drawn to. So I wouldn’t necessarily call it gospel but my aim is to uplift, encourage, educate and inspire people with my lyrics. Of course when attending interviews or award shows etc. in the future (by God’s grace) I will never fail to openly give God all the glory for my accomplishments, and so my hope is that people tune into that and are inspired to get closer to Him when they realise that He has been the pillar behind everything I do. My voice is suited to the Neo-soul/Soul/R&B genre of music so that would be my main sound.

Priscilla: In terms of measuring up as a Preacher’s Kid in the society, what do you think are the challenges or struggles you face?

Shae: I definitely felt as though I was missing out on something when I was younger. Because of how guarded I was from certain things, people would sometimes tease me in school calling me the ‘goody two shoes’ because I wasn’t allowed to go out to late night parties or wear the short skirts or whatever. When you’re young, you don’t realise the benefits of these things, but now that I’m older, I’ve found that those little differences in my upbringing have really set me apart in a positive way and made me the person I am today.

Priscilla: You talk a lot about “Finding yourself” tell me about it?

Shae: Teenage years are very turbulent, as we all know. You go through so many different stages and phases and friends and relationships and everything because you’re just so curious. I would say the journey to finding myself truly started when I started university. My style began to change, my taste in music, art and fashion widened & it was just a general eye opener. I wasn’t living at home and I was surrounded by loads of expressive, creative, opinionated individuals; many of them homosexual and atheists. So it was a very different dynamic for me. Due to not having the solidarity of my parents physically there anymore, combined with being around all these different people 24/7, I quickly began adopting other people’s views & allowing their perspectives to affect my truth. For a majority of my first year at the university, I felt like everything I ever knew was slowly being blurred and it was a very confusing-frustrating time for me. During this period I drifted away from God; hardly prayed, couldn’t be bothered to go to church, found myself ‘living for the moment’ with less concern about the consequences because that’s what everyone around me was doing. Their lives seemed so stress free because they didn’t have to worry about morals or face the guilt of their sins.

However, I slowly began to realise that this way of living wasn’t actually fun for me. I was just being a sheep; conforming to the majority. I felt uncomfortable at heart and deep down I knew this wasn’t me. So gradually, I started making a conscious effort to pray more, spoke to my parents and asked for their prayers too and tried my hardest to go to church when I could. Shortly, after I found that it’s only through losing myself and drifting away that I realised for MYSELF where I belonged. When you’re young and living with your Preacher parent’s you go to church every Sunday because you have to, you have family prayer because it’s compulsory; It’s enforced in your household. However, when you move out of home, get muddled into the drama school mix of unfamiliar ways, yet STILL find your independent way back to the comfort of that prayer and Sunday service, that’s when you know what your truth really is. This is where my gratefulness for my upbringing comes into play. It is due to my parents instilling the ways of God in me that gave me that pillar to run back to and restored my inner peace. I’m now approaching the end of my second year of university and I now see that I can be surrounded by anything and everything, but the best I can do for myself is hold onto my truth and simply respect others’.

Priscilla: Do you think the standard expected from Preachers kids is too high?

Shae: I don’t think the standard is too high, however, I think finding the balance is key. In the midst of trying to keep your child pure, you must remember that they are still a child; bound to make mistakes and still learning.

Priscilla: How do you think Preachers should relate to their Kids?

Shae: With openness and truth. I think all parents, not just Preachers, should be open with their children and speak to them about the different stages of life accordingly, when the time is right. Having such open parent’s myself has definitely helped me avoid making many common mistakes that teenagers make. Not only that, it has also helped me establish a super close relationship with them which is honestly the best thing a child could ask for. I believe it’s all about finding the right balance, as my parents have. I can only hope and pray that I achieve that same balance when I have my children in the future.

Priscilla: Any message to your Parents?

Shae: I am forever grateful for both of you and I love you to infinity and beyond!