Feel the Vibe of the New Year

 Tip for 2026: Enjoy the Music

It is a new year. A new set of 52 weeks. Don’t let the New Year’s Eve ball drop into 2027 without dipping your toes in 2026.

Feel it.  Let the ubiquitous appeal of it take over. Lean into it like it is your favorite song. Groove to its rhythm. Experience it. Embrace every miniscule bit of it.

Enjoy it. Let your spirit guide you to the smile to keep that joy vibrantly pulsating through your body.  

Feel the rhythm of the unique fusion of this new year. Find your smorgasbord of influence and stick to it. Let it splash over you like the waterfalls of Saut D’eau, Haiti. Submerge yourself into each day with fresh authenticity.

Feel the vibe of every single moment of these next 365 days like the morning alarm. And make sure you stay prayed up in the stretch of your every day as God carries you through each minute that comes embedded in it.

Hope that you are wooed by it and that this year sets your soul aflame to make it your most explosive year ever. I pray that your song and dance gets you relevéeing successfully as you progress forward through the year. May your 2026 be as refreshing as Negroni Sparkling Wine; but don’t get too drunk because I’ll be navigating through it too. Lml. 

Enjoy and be blessed!

________________________________________________________________________

 

As I continue to share parts of my identity and grow into the new year, here is an aspect of a musical atmosphere I was blessed to be in with the wonderful guitarist John Smith, drummer Camille Gainor, and Keyboardist James Preston at the Red Rooster Restaurant and lounge in Harlem, NY.  They are consummate professionals and the music they shared swelled in the air like a bird in the sky. They made it easy and fun to join in and sing with them. So thankful for that. 

I hope that you feel the strophe of each line as I did. Here is the link:

https://youtube.com/shorts/zNhBaYEBSpg?si=4_4bCysOXOCuJIRr

Ten Ways to Make The Most Out of 2025

The liberating truth you get when the ball drops and knowing that the old year has left us and the new year is here, is unmatchable. 

It is 2025. What a true blessing to know that we survived another year unscathed! It is a brand-new year now, and I realize how similar it is to opening a new sketchbook and starting fresh on your first pencil stroke.

 

I am sketching in a new heart to embrace the new year with love and the willingness to share as much of that love as I can. Whether that means that I will be more open to being a part of collaborative environments or whatever else is in store for me, I will allow myself to be immersed in that.

 

2025 already has its vibrant rhythms spiraling out of it. Here are a few ways to make the most out of 2025.

 

1.     Embrace each moment with joy and intention. The more positive you approach life, the more glamorously radiant your smile will be.

2.     Stretch yourself a little bit more, so you can find better ways to innovate.

3.     Find ways to be engulfed with peace. Rest is essential and if you don’t take quiet moments just to breathe, you might choke. Take a brain break. Walk through nature. Have that second cup of coffee. Get a mani/pedi. Sit in the tub for 45 minutes. Take care of your mental health. It is super important.

  

4.     Don’t stumble over your mess-ups. Get your ass up and try again. Keep going for the things you want to see this year.

5.     Get a true grip on life. Take it seriously. It’s yours.

6.     How many times can you watch the same old series? Be open to watching new things, seeing new things, and experiencing new things. Try that new restaurant that you have been dying to eat it; even if it is on a solo date. Watch that new movie everybody is talking about. Read that new book that you want to get your hands on. If you only indulge in the same old things, what can you actually get new out of it? Did somebody say new travel destination? Seek out the new.

7.     Don’t think that just because you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders well means that you have to bear it all alone. Ask for help. Allow someone else to help you carry it.

8.     The most important thing to carry through 2025 is faith. Stay prayed up. Believe that God has something wonderful in store for you and rely on his truth. Know the fact that you are phenomenally blessed and ready to receive good things in your life.

9.     Work on whatever It is that you are passionate about. The more that you work on it, the better you get. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. And the more that you believe that you are “More Than Enough” to get to where you want to go with it, the more the universe will bend to you. Never forget that you are more than enough.

10. Enjoy the brand new set of 12 months as much as you can. Don't take the time allotted in the year for granted. You have 525600 minutes to make a difference in your own world. Make sure you do more than just live mundanely through it. Experience it with intention and don't let it slip you by. 

 

I hope that you enjoyed this list. I hope to look back over this year when the ball is about to drop into 2026 and having a smile on my face. But until then, here is a song to carry with you throughout the year. https://youtu.be/u02NS1UUpu4?si=XdCRE-JiNfBaj0uh  

 

 

Have a fantastic 2025. Happy New Year! 

Hashtag IG Live

I guess we all tend to change with the times. I mean, who wouldn’t when we are all devoted to being our own personal best which may come with going with the trends that are currently #hashtag making noise. 

So the new form of communication seems to be going live and letting the social world into the moment so they can live the story with you. You can serve elaborate affairs, up-close-and -personal, with the world so they can understand your implication of truth more than just seeing a picturesque landscape of it.

I hesitated using it or to even watch the live feeds for a while 

because I didn’t want the idea to take over my mind. But I decided to try it while at a band rehearsal and it was not as bad as I thought it would be. 

I actually was once encouraged to start a Youtube Vlog series which I  entitled The Rehearsal Mode of JNote,
showing different aspects of how I practiced my vocals and rehearsed in a sort of television sitcom type of way with scenes and commercials and everything. At that time, I had recorded, edited and published 15 episodes with the first being three minutes long and the 15^th being about 
15 minutes long and it was fun to do.  But today, I shook the 

rehearsal mode thing up a bit and was softened into trying the live thing on Instagram for myself.

Here is what I found out…

So you get an hour of time to record live and share it with whomever is willing to watch on Instagram. I am used to having rehearsals with different bands I work with when nobody is watching but today, in spite of the burning questions I have about the live thing that instantly disappears after you are done recording, I took the risk and I did it.

Could a person actually affect another person by doing something differently and allowing those interested to be a part of it? Could you actually rock the world by being live? What if you stumble and fall when people across continents are there as a witness, virtually watching?

I found out that people are generally interested and actually took the time to see what was going on. Some liked. Some commented. I put my whole heart into the rehearsal mode that we were in and folks complimented the band, the sound, my singing, the music and it was interesting. 

I will call this a flowering of my strengths over my fears because I mustered the courage to do it. But my question is, while I am making these big, brave strides, what happens to the video? Is it really erased after it is shared and commented and liked and watched, like a snapchat photo? Perhaps it lands upon the moon. Or maybe it slides down a rainbow into a garden full of four leafed clovers. Can someone please tell me the cold, relentless truth about Instagram Live? 

Are you on instagram?  Join me! My username is musiqal1 and I would love to IG with you. 

Freedom to Express: Happy 4th of July

There's nothing more free to do than to do exactly what it is that you love. For me, that's singing! 

I guess you can say, I never loved anything more. I often find myself letting out a tone or two where I shouldn't be and in places where it is unexpected; on the train, while walking, during my workouts. But the freedom to do it makes it all the more worth it. 

Without expression what would I be? And without something to love what joy would life bring? Thank God for allowing me to be who I am! 

It was Aaron Copeland who said, "a musician must make music,an artist must paint,a poet must write, if he is to ultimately be at peace with himself." These words speak life. And when I say life, I think of my uncle who just recently passed. We have one life to live with an option to choose. 

We can exist and by that I mean, go to work and then come back home, sleep and do it all again like a routine and do a great job but that's it. Or we could live; go to our 9 to 5 while going to school, making friends, enjoying family, trying new things and embracing our passions even though we barely get any sleep at all, but it's joy and the completeness of satisfaction. 

Let's make Independence Day truly mean something for us today. Don't let the rains of Arthur stop us from really enjoying what independence truly means. Call someone you love and enjoy a beautiful conversation or turn the radio up and dance like you are under the spotlight at the Shadow night club or unravel your running thoughts onto paper and arrange it into a poem or put on your favorite record and just sing it like you never sang before. And if the storm rains on your barbecue, put a burger in your George Foreman and enjoy your Independence Day food indoors. Do what you love and enjoy the blessings of this day. 

It's independent day y'all. Happy 4th of July! ;)

Stephanie Jeannot

P.S.

I have pics like this and more on my Instagram and some of my other social media accounts. If you are interested, you can follow me at 

Http://www.instagram.com/musiqal1

Http://www.twitter.com/musiqal1

Http://www.facebook.com/jnotemusic

https://soundcloud.com/stephanay-jnote

http://www.reverbnation.com/stephanayjnote

Http://www.stephanayjnote.com