Batak | Moluccan/Javanese/Dutch/German
People are still surprised to hear I'm the owner/founder of my company. They often question me or they downplay it, or they think my husband (who is Dutch) is the owner and I'm the assistant. I remember that in a lot of music education classes, which I followed, here in the Netherlands, I was the only one from a non-Dutch background. I also noticed that music education in the Netherlands in the past didn't represent the multicultural society. I often chose Black American music for my class assignments because a lot of popular music stems from Black music (motown, spirituals, jazz, blues) and I think it's important to educate the next generations. When I did so, I got criticized for my choices by the educators. That was in 2015, a lot has changed since then.
Before I started my own business, a music school and academy. I had different big personal challenges in my life to overcome, one of them was raising my oldest son as a single Mother for a few years before I got married. I think that shaped me a lot, and made me stronger.
Due to the last 2 years, as an entrepreneur I've had many challenges business and personal wise. But because of the earlier life experiences and obstacles, I know the only way through a challenge is to persevere, and go right through it, even if it's so hard, never give up! It makes me think of the Sound of Blackness song ‘Whatever it takes, to make it, I'm going all the way’.
My role model is I think a combination of all people who overcome something very challenging, come from humble backgrounds, but work hard and rise above it and eventually live their best life. I also admire female musicians/artists with mixed heritage like Judith Hill, who don't always get the credit they deserve, but are crazy talented. I think I admire women/people who go against the stream, live their purpose unapologetically. I love that it's becoming more and more normal to see female musicians on stage. It's a great example for young girls. There is a lot of polarization going on in society nowadays, between races, between political views, religion and so on.
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