To the Orion Sun that has been the closest thing to be a part of my good friend's life:
Throughout the years of being good friends with Ina, she always mentions your name. Sometimes I questioned as to what kind of person you were like. I've been so close with Ina for so long, that we both question each other as to why I haven't seen Orion Sun yet? Ina talks a lot about you, of course she said some nice things of you, actually really nice things about you. She said that you were unique. I answered back to her, "Everyone is unique in their own way." Which is a true fact. To be unique, you have to present yourself differently from others your own way, by just doing what you specialize in.By doing what you specialize in also means that you have to love doing it. With how Orion Sun made herself unique was through the art of music.
When Orion Sun releases her new songs, Ina is always the person to show me them. She would play her song 'Space Jam' so much, that she would get it stuck in my head. Just from hearing her song on repeat, it has made me a fan of her work. Some of my favorite songs by her are 'Waiting in the car (interlude)', 'Space Jam' (of course lol), and 'Goodbye'. With Orion Sun's style in music, it relates to my taste in music. Her music has that chill, Hip-Hop, soulful vibe mixture to them, which are similar to some of my favorite music artist like Nujabes, Taku, and Joji.
One random night, Ina wanted to go to a little show at someones house, and it just so happened to be the moment where I finally got to meet Orion Sun. It was 12AM on a night and the streets are quiet in Philly. When we first introduced ourselves I felt nervous, like this is the close friend of my close friend. We just said our hellos, since it was getting late we parted ways back home, which seemed sad because I wanted to chat.
On a Thursday night, get a message from Ina saying that Orion Sun is having a performance Friday night at 8PM and she wanted me to go and see her. Friday's are usually days I work late so I couldn't give her a definite answer, but of course I would have said yes. During my time working, my client's father tells me that I'll be leaving work early due to my client going to a school dance, thus making me leave at 6:30PM. Once I was told that, I immediately message Ina saying that I can go. Both of us got excited and met up later that night. We get to the venue of the event and we happened to be the first people to even arrive, even before the people performing could get there. Everyone started coming in as time slowly past and Orion Sun comes in with her gear and sees us in surprise. We say our hellos once again and Ina is amping her up to get her excited for her performance that night. At first she was suppose to go second to perform but they ended up moving her last for no apparent reason, so we had to stay the whole time. Regardless of waiting, the other people who performed did well then I expected. Each groups were rock bands, and usually I don't listen to rock music but some of the songs they played were really good. As hours past, it was Orion Sun's time to finally go up.
I had brought my camera to take photos and record her performance, but during the event i tried to do practice shots to have my settings fit with the lighting. At the event they had the lights off and few light sources, so it was hard for me to work with. While I was taking some practice shots, my flash had broke! I also had recently got it for a previous gig that I had a couple months back. I got upset because I couldn't take photos of Orion Sun, it was just too dark for my camera to capture in good quality. So I planned on making a video instead, Improvised by using the flash for my phone as a light source.
In some way, I didn't know what to expect from her as a performer. All I could do was just be excited for her that she was singing. As she was getting ready to perform, her mood was very calm. The day before February 8th was her birthday so she's 22 now! Also the day of her performance was her high school music teacher's birthday. He had passed away the summer of her Junior year, so that day was very special to her. As she was performing her song, I was honestly getting really hyped up. The beginning was a slow pace vibe, then it escalated to some hard hitting lit songs which what made me get really all hype, since I actually know the songs. She then plays a song called 'BIG', which she made the day before on her birthday. Just knowing that someone would rather do something they enjoy doing on their birthday instead of go out drinking or something is satisfying to hear. Spending your birthday creating your form of art while also having fun, and I tell you, that song BUMPED! When I say bumped, she was literally spitting bars, everyone got hyped and she got embarrassed so she had to restart even harder than she did. Along in that song with bars, she adds her sense of style by adding some soothing vocals. As I mentioned before, her sense of music taste fits to what I like in music: Chill, soulful with a hint of Hip-Hop to it. I just loved it. Ending her performance, she played 'Space Jam' I'd say one of her best songs. While she was singing, she started crying, they weren't bad tears, but tears of joy. Her seeing all her friends coming together to see her perform can be very meaningful. For anything with anyone, it's a blessed feeling to have your closest friends support your craft. Out of all of the music performances that I ever attended in my whole life, I never felt such mixed emotions. It's rare for something like that to happen to me, considering I teared a little. But seeing Ina cry escalated it up for me, because that was her first time crying in front of me, regardless of her crying everyday (EXPOSED). But after that happened, it made me realize how much you mean to her.
It's sad to know that you're moving to California after finally meeting you for the first time. But you are literally moving on to do better things with your career as a music artist. Going up there is going to give you so many opportunities and I'm feeling pretty happy for you, everyone is. Hanging out with you and seeing you perform while you're still here in Philly has been a really great experience. Your group of friends are just very outgoing and so kind. Having people like them along with Ina have definitely helped you to be who you are in the most positive way out there. Never let go of them. Nothing that ever happens is ever forgotten, even if you can't remember it. Consider this journal as my gift to you for your birthday that just past. So again, happy birthday Orion Sun, or should I say Tiffany? Since now we are basically friends haha. Hope you have a G day.
