The crowd roars, chanting and cheering her name as she steps out to play another sold-out show. The music starts as she makes her way toward the microphone. She takes a deep breath, and begins.

Sophomore Julia Lopez is a young guitarist who writes and performs her own songs, working towards a career in music.

“I really enjoy singing and at first I was only doing covers,” Julia said. “But because I could never relate to the songs, I began writing my own songs which made them more personal.”

Julia said she intends to inspire people and hopes to make personal connections with others through her music.

“I want to share my songs and stories with other people,” Julia said. “If someone can be affected by my music in a positive way and relate to it, that would be amazing.”

Julia finds inspiration in everything that she does, whether it is something occurring in her life or what she feels inside.

“Songwriting is definitely an emotional outlet for me,” Julia said. “Whatever I am feeling, I write it down because it is one of the ways I can let out my feelings, and if I can make it into a song, then it is even better.”

Julia’s biggest inspiration is her father, Michael Lopez, who also has a musical background, and holds a spot as one of Lopez’s biggest supporters.

“Even as a child Julia was a big singer,” Michael said. “She would sing in her room, in the shower, she would sing all the time. It’s great that she writes her own songs, and I’m very proud of what she has done.”

One of Julia’s original songs, “Someone Like Me,” was written from a personal experience and was one of the first songs she had ever played in front of an audience.

“‘Someone Like Me’ is about this great guy that I really liked who had a girlfriend that was really pretty and perfect,” Julia said. “I figured that I would never really have a chance, so instead I decided just to put my feelings into a song.”

At last year’s Variety Show, the singer performed for the first time in front of a large audience, which was the defining moment when she knew that singing was her passion.

“I do not remember anything before the show or even playing at all, it was so unreal,” Julia said. “Then afterwards, when I finished playing, it was really silent until everyone started screaming. It made me feel so proud of myself because people were actually cheering for me, and that’s when I knew I wanted to be famous.”