I DIED AT 17.

Missy rocks the bass & sings in Los Angeles (photo: DrumWild)

My name is Missy.
Occupation: Rockin' Planet Earth and being Fearless.

I'm 4'10" tall.  I wear platform shoes.  I weigh 105 lbs and I am thick.
I weighed 126 lbs when I was bodybuilding in high school, but I looked lean and skinny.

I have always worked out.  I hike. I run. I jump rope. I roller skate. I dance.  I yoga.  I lift weights. I move.

                        Missy can imitate a Midwest accent "purty good".

I lived in a Korean Buddhist monastery near the 38th parallel. At the age of 3, I studied martial arts & music. I was adopted by a Midwest family at 7.  I've planted corn, fed chickens and milked a cow. Yes. One cow.

When I arrived to America, I spoke Korean fluently and I didn't speak any English.  I grew up without any interaction with other Korean-speaking people.  I quickly grasped the English language in order to survive. Today, I don't speak Korean.  I am learning some Spanish. And I have edited books for a few book publishing companies.

I was raised by my adopted American grandparents.  My USA birth certificate states my adopted dad as my biological father, but that is untrue. I have never met my real biological dad.  And I have never had a desire to meet him.  And I mean that in the most positive way.   I know we are fine :)

My mom told me I was a full-blooded Korean until I reached 12th grade.  It was then that she tearfully told me ..."You not full Korean - your real dad Hawaiian".  I said ... "Okay."

Missy is playing with knobs at an old public radio station. (photo:Darren Stroud)

I started piano when I was 3.  My background is classical.  I dropped out of music college in the first semester relinquishing my full music scholarship.

I formed a band and traveled the US playing music full-time (we played my originals).  I have performed in lots of venues; been featured on the news, sites, and TV; hosted as a VJ on TV; deejayed a radio program for original music.

That's Darren...the one holding up the guitar :)

I have had mentions in newspapers, magazines, books, webzines, music ads.  I launched a music publishing company.

It was rather surreal because music was never really something that I had committed to do.  It rather chose me.  People were watching, listening, and giving me money to continue.  I truly did not commit to music until I let go of my "first love" to choose the path of music. I embraced music only after that experience.

Missy's best asset is her mind, but others say it's her legs.

Highlights:   I was a featured artist on SteveMadden.com (shoe creator for the likes of tori amos, josie & the pussycat movie, etc.) when he was featuring rockers at the time.

Missy does NOT have any tattoos.

Even while playing music full time, I had little pop-culture knowledge.  I was too busy making music to have any time to listen to music. While setting up my gear in a club, I heard "Hells Bells" and I discovered rock.

Every time I heard a song I liked, I would ask my new guitarist, Darren, "Who's That!?" and he'd say something like, "Oh, that's Aerosmith." 

I wanted to do more than drive one success-wheel in the Midwest.  I wanted to express myself more aggressively. Rock 'n' Roll . . . and the raw energy of a live rock band was going to be my new vehicle.  And I wanted to do it somewhere else -- NY, CA, London, etc.  Wherever the road would take me.  After turning down management and publishing deals in NY, I found myself in LA.

Hiking in Tujunja CA. (photo: Vickie Selezniov)

I moved out to LA with everything in my car.  Darren Stroud (guitarist) followed in his truck.  At our first gig in LA, we met our manager and mentor, Michael.  We started my 2nd band ... FreaknMissy.

Everyday I learn about current pop culture - or catch up with the past.  I have often fallen in love with a band's sound only to discover that they are no longer a band.

Missy booked her first show before she knew how to play the bass.
She gave herself one month to learn to play bass.

People say that I am going backwards.  As I get older, I progress towards more juvenile music. I still enjoy classical and complicated music but screw the pretense ... I am a rocker.

It's hard to find the right people that have the same drive, ambition, vision, skill set, attitude, and philosophy like Michael, Darren, and I.  But we're still moving forward. I've written a lot of great songs along the way.  There are absolutely no losses.

Missy running @ Big Sur. (photo: Sandra C. Esparza)

I am working on my goals. I hope to do these things before the world ends as we know it.

1) Learn to fly - I don't care if I get an actual license, but if I achieve one, that is fine too.

2) Study study study - I don't care if I get a degree. I just want to study everything.

3) Learn to shoot well ... bullets, arrows, rocks, whatever.

4) Prepare my environment - proper food and water storage, emergency preparedness proofing, BOBs, 3-day packs, emergency packs, first aid kits, etc.

5) Become a better athlete, martial artist, and have an all-around higher physical performance; work on my endurance in extreme weather and temperatures.

6) Have a great rock band that makes quality music.  Create a line of products from videos to music that people can have.

7) Work on channeling my anxiousness about the world into "working out" as much as possible.  I am truly waiting and looking forward (with smiles, strength, and positivity) for the "world to end as we know it".  I am here not only to SURVIVE, but hopefully, to survive it well.

8) And most importantly ... FINISH THIS BOOK I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON.

Living is hard work.  And every day, I know how blessed I am. I love what I do, who I am, who I am becoming, the people I am with.  I love this crazy path that we are all heading towards.  I can't wait.

My obituary will never state "Missy died at 29" or "Missy died at 37" or "Missy died at 45" or "Missy died at 63" or "Missy died at 87".

I died at 17.  I won't be growing any older.