Lily Vengco has been singing and performing all of her life, and, while she is of course a great performer, music isn’t the only place she finds the spotlight.

Lily’s love for music started after hearing Taylor Swift on the radio. At age five, Lily preformed “Love Story” by Taylor Swift at her Junior Theater Showcase, and has enjoyed singing for others ever since.

“I absolutely love performing,” Lily said. “I look forward to it more than anything else.”

Lily, a 15-year-old sophomore, told The Willistonian that music above has “given me something to be proud of and something to connect to.”

With her love for music, performing comes naturally. Her genuine interest has given her the opportunity to perform with the Boston College Jazz Band and at the Three County Fair [in Northampton], as well as at her old schools, Christmas festivals, Springfield Community Music School, and many Williston banquets.

Lily has written songs from as long as she can remember. They often are inspired from her strongest emotions, and from there she simply sings and goes wherever the emotions take her. Once she has lyrics, she records herself, then builds off of it.

Just last year, Lily recorded herself singing “Snowman” by Sia, and with the help of Kira Bixby, 2019 graduate, turned it into a music video. The Film Club, along with Lily and Benning Johnson ’22, created a video that was a “huge success.”

“I really enjoyed working with Lily,” said Benning. “She is remarkably talented and one of the kindest people I know.”

Although Lily is a natural born performer and singer, her other passion is creative writing.

“Sometimes I find that music is a bit of a restraint on what I can do and love,” Lily said. ” I’ve always felt pressured into having music be my main everything: hobby, identity, future job. I love music, I do, but sometimes it feels like it’s all I am.”

Her appreciation for writing started with telling stories to entertain her sisters. As she grew, Lily started writing down these stories and adding to them.

Lily now takes Writers’ Workshop and in the spring will take Williston Scholars English. She is also in the process of writing, in her free time, a novel, Bonnie Van Right is a Terrible Person. The novel, she explained, explores the concept of schizophrenia, mental psychology, and the growth from childlike innocence.