Brian Macdonald, an 18 year old songwriter/singer from Wheaton, Illinois was recently featured at What's Right With Kids Today for discovering a powerful way to make a difference in the life of his autistic sister Claire. Brian, a senior at Wheaton Academy High School used his passion for music to compose a song for his 21 year old autistic sister Claire who needed some support adapting to transitions and change in her everyday life. This original song motivates her and gives her confidence in her daily schedule. She loves music very much and she loves singing “her song” because it makes her feel very proud and accomplished.
Brian explains that joy radiates from Claire 90% of the time. This song moves her through the 10% crankiness that usually occurs in the morning when she wakes up. Claire’s video that has been entered into a contest on tubecontest. The response that the video has gotten has really touched the family and shows that the beautiful way this song was birthed really resonates with people .
So how did this Claire Mac song come to be? Read on in Brian’s own words…
Brian first got the inspiration for this song one morning as he drove Claire to school. He started singing to Claire, saying “Claire Mac is gonna have a great day!” to get her motivated to take on her day. Brian further explains, “The song stuck in my head and I couldn’t get it out. A few weeks passed and then Claire’s birthday came up and… she needed motivation to go to the bowling alley, so I got my mandolin and sang the same tune as I played along. The song stuck and Claire continued to ask me to play it for her, which led me to write additional verses to the song, and then I recorded the song.”
Then Brian connected with his good friend Alex Forsyth, also 18 and a senior at Wheaton Academy, who then created a music video for the Claire Mac song. The song won first place on Tube Contest.
Brian has used his talent to support his beautiful sister Claire and he is also issuing us all a challenge too. He says, “Claire is such an inspiration to me and that is why it was so easy for me to write a song about her. Claire is such a blessing to my family and to all of the people in her life. I am very happy that I can even be inspiring to others through sharing what inspires me. I was already extremely blessed by Claire in my life, and even more when I shared that with other people. I found even more blessings and joy from sharing about Claire with others. Tony Alva says, ‘I never thought that would ever be my path in life. Something so simple. Share what you’ve got, and don’t ask for anything in return.’ I want to challenge you from what I have learned. Are you sharing your gifts and inspirations with others? You will benefit richly from it when you do.”
Brian’s mom Rosemary graciously shared with What's Right With Kids Today, “Brian has been blessed with great talent and is using it to inspire others. He sets a great example for so many. We couldn’t be prouder parents!”
Brian will be attending Belmont University in Nashville, TN in the fall of 2011. He has been accepted into their music program where he will be majoring in Contemporary Music with an emphasis on guitar. This talented guy, who also plays piano, mandolin and drums can also be found participating in his school worship band and concert choir, as well as his church worship team. But also look for him around town as he plays and sings at local coffee houses and restaurants.
Alex Forsyth,18, is also a Senior at Wheaton Academy, located west of Chicago. He will be heading to California’s Asuza Pacific University to study science and continue creating inspirational videos. Alex has seen Claire mature and grow up for the past 4 years, and finds her to be funny and just plain awesome. His interests include music, playing the piano, longboarding, making movies and capturing the extraordinary through photography.
Another example of what is Right With Kids Today!
Rena M. Reese is the founder of Soul Salon International, an inspirational multimedia company. She is the author of several inspirational titles, a professional speaker and coach as well as the host of a weekly radio program, The Soul Salon. For more inspiration and information, please visit www.SoulSalonInternational.com and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter @TheSoulSalon.
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