 "It has always been my goal as an artist to really reach people through my music and it truly gives me purpose when people contact me about this song saying they've felt this way or they are suicide survivors." - Malynda Hale Malynda Hale is a singer, songwriter and actress, originally from Santa Barbara, CA and like most artists, her time is spent between Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. When Malynda heard Leelah Alcorn's story, something inside spoke to her and she wrote "Falling," as a tribute to Leelah Alcorn and the LGBT community. "Music has always been the biggest part of my life and it wasn't until recently that I started doing more acting, modeling and entertainment hosting," Malynda tells Connextions Magazine. She has recorded 3 albums, all currently available on iTunes, done numerous print ads and acted in films, TV and commercials. Her goal in life has always been to help people and make a difference through her art. She tells us, "I'm so blessed to be able to do what I love, but I'm also blessed that I'm in a position to touch others' lives. I definitely want to continue down my path as an artist but a few other goals I have are to open up a performing arts school for kids and own my own record label. I believe in creating opportunities for others and paying it forward, it's something that I feel very strongly about! I hope to achieve those two goals very soon." Leelah Alcorn had barely turned 17 years of age, when she felt the only way out was to end her life. Leelah's death has increased awareness of teen suicide and transgender issues. Leelah used her Tumblr account to express her sorrow for the pains and tribulations the trans-community faces, and she wanted her death to mean something. Leelah writes: "My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say "that's fucked up" and fix it. Fix society. Please." Malynda's best friend, Keni, is a transgirl and Malynda cannot even begin to imagine how it must feel to have those feelings of hopelessness and lack of support. She explains that on New Year's Eve she was with her husband and she just started playing the piano and the line "All he wanted was an open mind" came to her and she started thinking about how this song would go, and suddenly Leelah's story came to her mind and "all of the stories of these poor souls, who felt lost, they had nowhere to turn and I wanted to write a song about it. Songwriting inspiration can come from anywhere and since this is a subject that is so dear to my heart - having so many people close to me who are part of the LGBT community - I knew in writing this song I could make a big difference. I didn't really realize how big of an issue LGBT suicide and death was until I starting doing the research with my friend who helped make the video. It breaks my heart that so many youth lacked the support and love they needed in order to continue living. Fear is such a scary thing and some of them were afraid of being themselves or were simply shielded from doing so and I personally would never want my friends or my future children to feel that way. All lives matter and everyone needs to be loved and accepted." "I've always been passionate about LGBT rights. I think also being a minority I can understand the struggles of discrimination and having to fight for acceptance and certain rights. I truly believe that everyone is equal and it's unfortunate that in 2015 there are certain things the LGBT community is still fighting for. It's also such a shame many members of the LGBT community find it hard to be themselves from the start and have to shield their true self from the world. As with Leelah, she wasn't allowed to be her true self and that led to her taking her own life. I think as an ally who has the platform to get a strong message out I can't just sit idly by when so many people especially youth are taking their lives because of these feelings. It breaks my heart and I just want to continue to show my support any way I can." Malynda is currently working on a new album to be released this year. She'll be releasing a single titled "Real Love," especially written for same-sex and interracial relationships. Malynda explains, "I wrote it from my own personal experience being in an interracial relationship, and as I was writing it I realized a lot of my friends who are in same-sex relationships were probably experiencing similar feelings. Also, since the fight for marriage equality is still a prevalent issue I figured there was no better time than now to release this song." Malynda started a campaign called The meTOO! campaign that supports same sex and interracial relationships of all kinds. You can learn more about the campaign at www.metoocampaign.com. Malynda can also be contacted via her website, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook and on her YouTube channel. Words of advise from Malynda Hale: "love one another, live your dreams and stay passionate. Helping others is one of the most rewarding things you can do in the world so never pass up a moment to help someone else!"
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