I leaned against the wall outside Ounce Coffee on March 14th, the sunlight bright and flat upon the brick, as I surveyed the Friday morning crowd in the thriving suburb of Westbourne, Dorset. I was meeting up with my friend Sam, a fellow Belmont grad, who plays the drums in a touring band that just so happened to have a show in Bournemouth. I decided to take him to my favorite coffee shop and walk down to the beach, a mile walk that passed through the Alum Chine gardens, a paved path through an enclosure of pine trees, palm trees, and a vast network of shrubbery. As we got coffee and made our way to the path, Sam kept repeating how beautiful Bournemouth was and how it might be his new favorite city in England. “Liz,” he exclaimed, “This is just like a movie!” As we entered the Alum Chine gardens path, Sam fell silent and stared around in awe at the canopy of trees and greens that surrounded us. What seemed like a relatively normal path through the forest to me was a sight of pure astonishment to Sam, and I realized then how little I give Bournemouth credit for; it is, truly, a town rich with natural beauty.
Sam and I are both, to varying degrees, traveling musicians. He is literally a paid musician in a touring band, and I am a charity manager and musician who is, in a long-term and more stationary sense, traveling. He understands what it’s like to grow up in the Midwest and move to Nashville as a musician, but he also knows how it feels to be an American working in the United Kingdom. Having someone who can bridge these worlds has been grounding and comforting in ways I didn’t expect. As the sea came into view and the sunshine poured down on us, I was struck by the rarity of it all: two Belmont University graduates from the Midwest are walking on the beach in Bournemouth, England, a city we both ended up in through a strange twist of fate and a lot of hard work. Cosmic alignments such as these don’t occur often, and I felt so proud of us both for all that went into making this moment happen.

Sam and I in Bournemouth!
My gratitude for Belmont and the friends I’ve made there carry into my work: I had my second-to-last songwriting workshop last week, and so many of my teaching tactics are pulled from my songwriting professors. Each group finished writing and recording a demo of their song, and my words of advice echo those I’ve heard from peers and professors at Belmont. Next week we’ll listen to everyone’s song and give feedback, and I’m so excited to listen and reflect on the experience as a whole. I can see that the kids light up and feel empowered when they have the freedom to create something entirely their own, and it is a joy to witness and facilitate that. That day marked six full months of me living in Bournemouth, and I got to end the night by playing my second full-band show and first headliner show in England. I’m so grateful and proud that I’ve been able to take my love for songwriting from Nashville all the way to Bournemouth, and I’m excited to see where it goes next.

Beautiful Bournemouth beach!
Love,
Elisabeth