Even though Nissy Wallingford, sophomore, only discovered her aptitude for music about three years ago, she is already an accomplished musician, with multiple tracks on iTunes, an article in The Current, and a show with local artist Chris Koza to her name.

“Before I started playing guitar, I hated people staring at me. I don’t like attention being on me,” Wallingford said. “After a while, I felt more confident in myself, and then I wasn’t so worried about playing in front of so many people.”

A basic guitar lesson at Schmitt Music was all it took to spark Wallingford’s passion for music.

“Guitar was forced family fun, actually. My mom signed us up for group guitar lessons,” Wallingford said. “It was really fun, and I didn’t even know I could sing then.”

However, with the support of her family and friends, Wallingford gained more confidence in her voice. She began performing for small crowds and became more comfortable as a performer, most recently performing at the HHS Winter Pepfest.

Wallingford can often be found singing and strumming a guitar at open mics, such as those found at the Excelsior Brewery Company and the Depot Coffee House. The inclusive, relaxed environment of those events is the main draw for Wallingford.

“Some of [the acts] are bad, some of them are good, and you clap for all of them. There’s poetry, there’s singing, there’s rapping,” Wallingford said. “It’s a really wide range of things, which is cool, because you see people doing things they enjoy. And even if they’re bad at it, they’re in a place where everything is accepted, which is really nice.”

So whether it be at coffee house shows, middle school talent shows, or most recently, the HHS winter pepfest, Wallingford has left her mark at a number of different venues.

Now, she is considering sending in a video to audition for the TV show “The Voice.” However, rather than reaching for fame and fortune, she is simply hoping for a little bit of auditioning experience in the music industry and a chance to continue practicing what she loves.

“I don’t want, really, to be famous. If that was a possibility, that’s not what I would choose. If I had the choice to be famous or just do something that I like, I would just do something that I like,” Wallingford said.

In the future, Wallingford hopes to continue pursuing her passion for music, even beyond high school.

“It’s something I’m good at, which is hard to find; I know a lot of people that are good at something, and they just don’t like it. With this, it’s something that really makes me happy and lets me feel like I can be myself,” Wallingford said. “I don’t really have to worry about people judging me. It makes me me.”