Caleb Marasco comes to school every day and teaches geometry, algebra and probability and statistics classes for hours. Most teachers would go home and make lesson plans, do some grading or spend time with their family after a long day— but Marasco goes home every night and spends hours with his guitar writing music.
Marasco has always had an interest in music, but his love for it intensified a few years ago when he bought his first guitar.
“I joined the drama club in high school and chorus shortly after that. Then, I bought my first guitar over COVID-19, and I really liked singing and I wanted to make something out of it. I taught myself how to play the guitar and a couple months after I learned, I got my first gig,” Marasco said.
Before he joined drama club and chorus, when Marasco was a kid, he was inspired by the actor and singer Jesse McCartney.
“When I was little, I was really into this one artist. I loved his [McCartney’s] music, but especially his voice, so, I tried to mimic it. He was my reason that I started singing. But my reason to continue pursuing music was because I wanted to make an impact or a change in people’s lives,” Marasco said.
Marasco loves his job, but he knows he is meant to do bigger things in life. He wants to make an impact on the world.
“I love teaching; it’s great. I know I am making an impact on my students, but I have a feeling that I want to do more. I’m not going to say that I am going to get a big, famous music career, but that would be my dream. I would love for that to happen,” Marasco said.
There are several things holding Marasco back from his dream of being a full-time musician.
“I currently have a fiance who is in master’s school in Pittsburgh. I am waiting until she is done there because I don’t want to move anywhere without having a job. Eventually, if I get the right opportunity, I would 100 percent take it, but right now, I’m just not ready to fully jump in,” Marasco said.
His students talk and ask him questions about his music career quite often, according to Marasco.
“A lot of my students check up on my TikTok and I get a lot of comments from them,” Marasco said. “When I go live, I get a lot of messages, and I like to listen to them. They always ask me to play my music, even though I never do, but they always ask me to. It’s honestly great feedback, and it’s good to hear that they like it so much.”
This summer, he released a song called “Wished Away.” Marasco was given a poem and turned it into a song with help from a friend.
“One of my dad’s friends wrote a poem, but he didn’t really love it, so he gave it to his son and we wrote the song based on his poem,” Marasco said. “The backstory of the song is really trying to tell people to take it slow; take it easy. Enjoy the time you have with people you love while you can because sometimes you won’t have the time.”
