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November 2025

Hi! Nice to see you here 🙂 

For context, I was born in Vancouver, Canada but I was raised in Beijing, China and I moved to Boston for my undergraduate degree at Berklee College of Music where I double majored in Music Therapy and Film Scoring. My beloved brother lives in Toronto and my cousins live on the east coast, but the rest of my family are all in China. 

Above: My mom, grandparents, cousins, and family dog 

Above: My brother and I

I am very lucky that the only thing I have to adapt to once moving to America was the culture, for language was not something I had to worry about. Regardless, I definitely still feel like an outsider in this country, well, because I am an expat after all. 

I decided to move to San Diego because MTC seemed like the perfect place for me to do my internship, and my other requirement was I wanted to live in a city and not a small town. I heard great things about San Diego from my American friends, and since I have already lived the east coast life, I knew it was time to try something completely new. My intuition told me it was the right choice although I have never even visited and I have learned to fully trust my intuition these days cause she has never led me wrong. 

Truthfully, living alone and being a single woman is not easy in this country but this experience has only made me more resilient, and I am eternally grateful for all the friends and family that have helped me with this cross country move! 

July 14, 2025 

I GOT ACCEPTED TO THE MTC INTERNSHIP!!! WOOHOOO!!! 

July 25, 2025 

I signed the lease to my San Diego apartment! Fun fact: as part of my manifestation process, I already began looking at San Diego apartments during the internship application process before I got accepted to really get myself in the right headspace. I scoured Google reviews, Yelp, Tiktok, Instagram, and with the help of the realtor sending me video recordings of the place, I am happy to say I found my perfect apartment. 

July 31, 2025 

My lease has ended in my Boston apartment! It is time for me to pack it all up with the help of some movers. Huge shoutout to my cousin’s girlfriend for allowing me to store all my boxes in her home in Massachusetts. It was so emotional leaving that place! I know it is time to move on, but goodbyes are always the hardest. Saying goodbye to the people that worked the concierge and the maintenance team was sooo bittersweet. 

Above: The view from my old Boston apartment facing the Museum of Fine Arts, one of my favorite spots in the whole city 

Above: All my things in storage

September 12, 2025 

I spent my last month with my family in Beijing and it is time to fly back to Boston to ship all my things over to San Diego! There is no time to deal with jetlag, I only have a few days to get everything done! 

This was my first time coming back to Boston after breaking up with my long term boyfriend, and it felt so difficult being in Boston again and thinking about all the time we spent together. I had to avoid all the familiar parts to prevent myself from feeling sad since I had to get so much done. Thank you to my college friends Zo and Mi Lan for allowing me to crash on their couch. 

Above: Mi Lan and Zo. We’ve known each over since freshmen year

Pro tip: UPS was the cheapest and safest way for me to ship all my things cross country! Since I was in Beijing before and I could not make any calls, Uship is great for cross country shipping but it requires organizing it a week or so in advance for the best outcomes. Regardless, UPS managed to ship my springboard mattress cross country and it came undamaged! 

Thank you sooo much to my younger cousin Eric and his girlfriend, Marissa, for helping me with the process of shipping everything from Boston! 

Above: We popped his trunk and put my mattress on it to bring to UPS’ office. 

September 15, 2025

I have landed in San Diego! Pro tip: I have a ‘travel oriented’ credit card so I was able to book my flight with my points which saved me money. My amazing college friend Cindy drove four hours roundtrip from Los Angeles to help me with my first day! Thank you Cindy <3 we went to Target, Ikea, Whole Foods to get all my essentials. 

Above: My first view of San Diego! I was so emotional touching down cause I have finally made it here! 

September 16-21, 2025

I knew this was gonna come, but I cried every day. It was just a difficult time being by myself and feeling completely alone, having to do every task by myself. I rented a car–they gave me a Ford Escape which felt very American 😛 to get things done. I drove all around the city for Facebook Marketplace pickups, and I lived out of my suitcase these days because I did not have the emotional bandwidth to unpack. I also went around town trying to find the best car to lease, and even socializing with those car dealership guys made me happy to have those interactions with other people. 

Thank you so much to the senior intern, Leah, and her husband Ruben for coming over to help me unpack one evening, it helped me so much with the speed of settling in! <33333

September 22, 2025 

I picked up my newly leased car!!! I am so proud of myself for negotiating the deal all by myself and I am excited to take my first ever car to all my future adventures! 

September 24, 2025 

My beloved mattress has arrived all the way from Boston! This is my first time sleeping in a real bed since I left Beijing on September 12th. 

September-October 5th, 2025 

I tried to use the time before my internship and after I have finished settling into my apartment as a time to make as many new friends as possible! I have been using apps such as Bumble for Friends, gone to events hosted by Newps for girls to make friends, attended a Timeleft event where they pair you with five strangers for dinner, and the good ‘ol fashioned way of talking to strangers at cafes and restaurants. I am so grateful to everyone that has entered my life in this new city and I love continuing to build my own community! 

Concluding thoughts: 

I knew that this process was going to be physically and emotionally difficult since I was on my own, but I knew it was the best case scenario. My dad is 59, my mom is 55, did I really want them travelling from Beijing to San Diego to help me? No. Thank you to the helping hands along the way: Eric, Marissa, Cindy, Leah, and Ruben. I could not have done this without you all! I am so proud of making this move by myself, and I know I have grown to be so much stronger and wiser after this entire process! 

Thank you for taking the time to read a little bit about my journey in life.

  • Ashley Liu, MTI

As I wrap up my music therapy internship at The Music Therapy Center of California, I’ve found myself reflecting deeply on the experiences that shaped me, both as a clinician and as a person. This internship has been more than just a stepping stone toward professional certification; it’s been a space for transformation, where theory met practice, and where I discovered what kind of music therapist I want to be.

Here are some of my most meaningful takeaways:

1. Regulation Comes Before Communication

One of the most powerful clinical truths I learned was that regulation must come before communication, cognition, or academic learning. Many of the individuals I worked with, especially those with vision impairments, sensory differences, or sensitivity to certain things, could not fully engage until they first felt safe in their environment.

With these clients, music became a co-regulatory tool. Whether through steady rhythmic grounding, familiar musical routines, or vocal mirroring, I learned how to use music as a way to meet clients exactly where they were. This approach helped build trust, reduce distress, and open the door to expressive language and interpersonal connection.

2. STRUCTURE CAN UNLOCK CREATIVITY

Before this internship, I worried that too much structure might limit spontaneity in sessions. What I’ve learned is that for many clients, especially those who experience unpredictability as threatening, structure is what allows creativity to emerge safely.

Predictable musical forms, clear visual cues (e.g. schedules), and repeated routines created a secure framework within which clients felt free to take risks. One of my clients began improvising their own lyrics once they could count on the consistent musical flow. The structure didn’t restrict expression, it unlocked it.

3. Collaboration is a Clinical Skill

Interdisciplinary collaboration was a core part of this internship. I worked alongside speech therapy goals, and other music therapists offering a different lens on the client. Whether it was collecting shared data on communication goals, aligning intervention themes with classroom curriculum, or integrating AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) strategies into music sessions, I learned that collaboration is more than cooperation, it’s a clinical skill in itself, and it is not an easy one! As a student, I was always too afraid to ask for help, or even just a different opinion. “I can do this myself, I don’t need to bother anyone else” was very often my thinking. I am thankful that I learned to break this habit quickly during my internship. Hearing (and asking for) a different perspective on interventions is what made my skills grow most. 

4. SIMPLICITY IS POWERFUL

As an intern, I often felt pressure to prove my creativity or clinical range. But time and again, I witnessed how simple, consistent interventions made the biggest impact. A two-chord song with a steady beat. A visual instrument choice board. A familiar “hello” song with a predictable turn-taking pattern.

These “small” things were often the key to participation, especially for students with limited language or regulation challenges. I learned to stop chasing novelty and instead focus on what truly supported the client’s success.

5. Who I Am Matters as Much as What I Do

This internship reminded me that music therapy is more  about therapeutic presence than it is about performance. Performance often centers on precision, presentation, and audience reaction, but in therapy, the focus is on connection and responsiveness.

Clients responded not just to what I offered musically, but to the energy I brought into the space. My tone, my openness, my ability to wait, to listen, to respond gently. All of these “non-musical” elements shaped the therapeutic relationship.

I learned to trust myself more, to trust that who I am, when grounded and intentional, is just as therapeutic as the interventions I plan and facilitate. That’s not something you can find in a textbook. It’s something you earn through experience.

Looking Ahead

As I prepare to transition from intern to professional (MT-BC pending), I carry these learnings with me as both tools and touchstones. I’m proud of the work I’ve done, the clients I’ve met, and the moments of growth I’ve shared with my supervisors and colleagues. This internship has shaped the way I see the field, and myself within it.

Music therapy, I’ve learned, is not about fixing anyone. It’s about witnessing, supporting, and making space for what’s already present in someone’s story. That will always be the heart of my work.

Amelia Elbendary