We’ve all had that moment: we’re sitting on a school bus, staring dramatically out the window as a song blasts from our earphones, our face pressed lightly against the glass as we pretend to be the star of a music video. Of course, this reality is shattered the moment that the school bus hits a particularly nasty pothole or comes to a screeching stop to drop off some of the other kids. 

For most Liberty students, this instant is the closest they ever come to being the lead of a real music video, but for senior Kelsey Moe, it is a dream that has become a reality. 

From a young age, Moe has loved singing. So, over the summer of 2020, she took her passion for music a step further when she wrote her own original song “Please Stay” and created a music video for it with the help of a friend. 

“The process of writing it took a couple of hours, and then I spent about a week critiquing it to make sure I got my point across as best I could,” Moe said.

When writing the song, Moe had a very clear message which she hoped to convey through her heartfelt lyrics.

“I wrote the song for all the people who don’t feel like they have a reason to stay in this world,” Moe said. “The song is about the idea that there is always something left to explore in life, no matter if it’s something as big as climbing Mount Everest or as small as trying a new ice-cream flavor—it isn’t about the magnitude of the thing, it’s about the idea that you haven’t finished living.”

However, this isn’t all Moe hoped to express through “Please Stay.” Through her song and the accompanying video, Moe strove to emphasize the idea that everyone has people who truly love and care for them—even if they can’t necessarily see it themselves. She wanted her song to serve as a reminder that there are always more reasons to stay than there are to go.

Moving forward, Moe plans to continue pursuing her passion in music by composing songs and singing. In the time since she finished writing and filming the music video for “Please Stay,” Moe has also written and shot a music video for another of her songs, titled “She Grew Up.”