Crown of Beauty Magazine The Brave Issue | Page 41

That's just something that I will never do, haha! He gave me the gift of music and the talent of singing, and so I think one thing I've learned is, "Okay God, You've made that as my masterpiece and so I have to use that to glorify You." So, it's kind of one of those things that I always

COB: Is that kind of a weird thought for you to think that other people look up to you?

Carmen: It is a weird thought! Sometimes I forget and I'm like, "I'm really not that cool." Haha! :) You know, sometimes social media can make you seem so cool, and I'm like, "If they only knew how not cool I was." Haha :) But I really take it seriously, as well. I really feel like I (and sometimes maybe I put too much pressure on myself, but I also just definitely feel the weight of that) want to make sure I'm always just very intentional about how I'm writing my music and how I'm living my life. Because I do realize that there's people who do look up to me and

I don't take that lightly. But at the same time, I also am not perfect and I don't claim to be and I make mistakes just like everyone else. It is funny, a lot of my friends are like, "You're really not that cool." Haha! :) Like, "People think you're cool, but you're totally not that cool." Hahaha!

COB: What would be a piece of advice you would leave with our readers? What would you really want them to know, like what you as a person are all about? Maybe like a motto or something you live by?

Carmen: Yeah, absolutely! I have a motto that I was told years go by this woman when I was first getting into the music industry, and she told me "Remember who you are, and Whose you are." That has been kind of my motto for my life. Just remember who I am, where I came from, the things that Carmen does well, and the things that Carmen loves. But also remember who I am. I am a child of God and I want to glorify Him and point to Him in everything I do, and I think that applies to really anyone. I think my main message and my main motto in life is just to love people. I think there's so much in the world right now that is not full of love, and so I would just encourage anyone, whatever age, girl, boy; just to love their friends. Love their family as well. And to point to Jesus in what we do encourage girls, especially. Just to know that they were made uniquely as them, not as anyone else.

COB: So, besides your family, and God of course, who has been the biggest source of inspiration for you?

Carmen: Ooh, um... I think honestly, I have a mentor in my life; she's a woman that I met probably five or six years ago. I go to see her for counseling and she's just kind of been my mentor through a lot of big decisions I've had to make. She has been a woman that I really

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