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‘Embrace your weirdness’

Country singer motivates Weyauwega-Fremont students

By Angie Landsverk


Country music singer “Rowdie” Mitch Goudy encouraged Weyauwega-Fremont students to set goals and embrace who they truly are when he visited the high school on Thursday, Feb. 4.

“Start thinking about the problems you have in life and how they can be opportunities for other things,” he said.

The Iowa native, who just turned 21, spoke to middle school and high school students during three separate assemblies.

“I’m not here to provide absolute revelations, said Goudy, who has songs on national country music charts.

Speaking to the high school’s juniors and seniors, Goudy said whether they plan to go directly into the workforce, travel or go to college, he hoped they got something out of his talk.

“We all have dreams, but we have to be realistic,” he said.

Goudy said he did not set out to write a country song when he wrote the words to what became “My Girl’s Hand.”

He wrote that song while sitting in a class.

“I thought it was so dumb,” Goudy said. “It’s about wanting to hold this girl’s hand, who was always holding the hand of another guy.”

He did not tell anyone about the song, including the girl for whom it was written.

Years later, Goudy sang that song for someone who earlier told him, “Come back when you can sing, kid.”

He explained how he went from a teen writing songs in classrooms to a country singer and a model.

“I did it. I jumped. I took a problem and turned it into an opportunity,” he said.

Goudy did so twice during middle school.

He was 12 years old when he started a mobile disc jockey service with one of his peers.

“I went to a middle school dance and thought the music was lame,” Goudy said in explaining why he started a business.

He quickily came up with the necessary equipment and approached the principal with his idea.

The principal turned him down, but Goudy continued to ask.

He and his fellow 12-year-old then worked with a teacher to develop a logo, contract and invoice for their business.

They then offered a lower fee for the service as an incentive, and the principal agreed to trust them with one opportunity. It was a success.

Typically, about 100 students attended the middle school dances.

That night, about 500 did.

“Obviously, the principal hired us again,” Goudy said.

The second time he turned a problem into an opportunity was also when he was in middle school.

He wanted to be an athlete.

However, a knee condition changed that when he was in eighth grade.

When his doctor recommended that he stop playing sports, Goudy decided to look at it as an opportunity, rather than a problem.

Goudy’s father brought home a guitar one day, recognizing how his son had been singing since he was 3 years old.

When Goudy wanted to become a professional singer, his choir teacher told him what he needed to do.

Goudy admitted he thought he knew it all when he was in high school.

After not following the order of his teacher’s advice, Goudy found himself with a challenge after being turned down initially for a chance at fame.

“The worst thing you can do, and I did it, was going through the last couple years of high school dreading every day,” he told W-F students.

He told them to make the choice to make their final years of high school the best they can be.

Goudy also told the students to set goals.

He dreamed thousands of people, including the girl of his dreams, would attend his first show.

“There was one person at my show,” Goudy said. “It was my mom.”

He described started his career by singing the words “I love you” to his mother as being “awkward.”

Goudy also said when he stopped trying to fit in by wearing the “right” clothes and decided to be himself, things changed.

“Embrace your weirdness,” he said. “One day, I thought, ‘I’m a musician. I’m a business owner. I’m just going to be myself.’”

The most attractive people are those who are truly themselves, he said.

Goudy said he understands how the school’s juniors and seniors feel right now.

“At one point in your life, you’re going to have to jump,” he said of being the best they can be. “That is what every successful person in their life has done.”

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