Cody Simpson - Welcome to Paradise - My Journey

I competed in the same competition the following year, in which I ended up with the same incredible results. When I was 12, I went to the Pan Pacific School Games, which is an even more intense and prestigious competition because it’s not just Australia. More than 30 countries compete, including New Zealand, Canada, Guam and others. There I won three gold medals, two silvers and a bronze.

Swimming had all of my focus and energy. I was working really hard to reach my goals, pushing myself each and every day. I loved it. When I really thought about my future and what I wanted for myself, I hoped I could reach the Olympics. I knew that anything is possible if you work hard enough for it, and I felt like I was so close to living my dream.

A champion!

Checking the results at the end of my race at the Queensland Championships.

Racing my favourite stroke, butterfly.

SECRET STAR

Even while I was swimming competitively, music remained very much a fun hobby and creative outlet for me. So, when I posted my first video on YouTube, it happened by chance. I was 11 years old and there was a talent show portion of an end-of-year assembly at my school. A family friend and great friend of my sister named Nusi McCarthy had entered the talent show to sing Jason Mraz’s song ‘I’m Yours’ a cappella. I wasn’t planning to perform that night, but I offered to play guitar with her and we made it into a duet. It was fun to play for my friends at school for the first time. But it was nerve-wracking, too. I was grateful that I wasn’t alone and had Nusi up there with me. The whole thing was very casual and small, though, so that made me feel more comfortable about performing. Her mum filmed the performance, and when I saw the video, I thought it was pretty cool. So I made a YouTube account and posted it online. It got a couple of hundred views and I was thrilled!

I asked my parents if I could post more videos on YouTube, and they were reluctant at first because of safety concerns. I was never allowed to have a MySpace page or even an email account. But after a few months of me bugging her, my mum started to come around. She let me sign up for MySpace and continue using my YouTube account as long as she was in control of them and could check any messages. Once she was satisfied that it was secure and safe for me to use, she even started to help me with filming and would get excited when people liked the videos.

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