There are many unique students with different background walking through the hallways every day. Students usually fit into a certain crowd based on their hobbies, likes, interests, and personalities. Among these students is junior Phoenix Lawless, who is a seemingly average guy but also has his own YouTube channel with over 500 subscribers.

Lawless, who has been uploading videos to his channel since 2015, uses this platform as a way to showcase his piano playing skills. He has been playing piano for six years and and has practiced every day since to become the musician he is now. According to Lawless, he became interested in playing the piano after hearing a song off a a game that he really enjoyed.

“I thought to myself, ‘Woah, that’d be kind of cool if I could play that,” he said. “Of course, having no musical knowledge, I couldn’t learn it. Two weeks after I got offered lessons from a music teacher at St. Mary’s. That was when I decided that I wanted to play.”

According to Lawless, he started his YouTube channel in the hopes of becoming famous for playing piano.

“I mean, who doesn’t want to wake up in the morning to a bunch of comments on how talented you are?” he said. “Especially with people my age living in such a self-conscious reality, being told positive things every day just really makes you feel a whole lot better.”

Lawless said the hardest thing about playing piano is auditioning or performing for small groups of people.

“I’m completely fine with playing for large crowds because everyone just kind of blends in, but when it’s a few people just crowded around me or just in one room it’s kind of nerve-wracking,” he said.

One of Lawless’ goals of playing piano is to share what has made his existence worth something, which is good music.

“Everyone loves good music,” he said. “Why not put more out there? If you have a dream, go for it. Nothing’s stopping you except for yourself. And if things don’t work out, that’s life. But when life throws all those obstacles at you, don’t let it keep you down. Get back up and do what you have to do.”

Lawless said his biggest supporters throughout his years of playing piano have been his close family members.

“They’ve had a pretty large impact on both my career and my life,” he said. “I’ll always be grateful for them.”