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SALT LAKE CITY – Inside Salt Lake City Guitar comes the grit of rock and roll, the groove of rhythm and blues. Owner Preston Howard has shared that sound with more than a thousand students over the years, as he's brought his passion for music into the studio. Now, he's sharing that passion with 14-year-old Kenzie, who is picking up an electric guitar for her first real lesson.Kenzie’s love for music runs deep, especially for punk rock. She thrives on the energy and raw emotion of bands like Paramore, Linkin Park, Green Day, and Mayday Parade. “My gosh, I really like the 2000s, like punk kid. So Paramore, Linkin Park, Green Day, Mayday Parade,” Kenzie said. “Yeah, I always say I’m from the wrong generation.”
Strength through struggles
Kenzie is confident, adventurous, and caring — traits that have helped her navigate life’s challenges. She has lived in foster care for four years, having lost her mother at a young age. This experience shaped her, forcing her to mature quickly. “I had to grow up very, very fast. I raised my brother. I raised myself, and I didn’t necessarily have a childhood,” Kenzie shared.Despite these hardships, she remained optimistic. “I feel like I'm very optimistic in about everything. I always try to find the bright side of things. I'm very adventurous. Very caring. I'm a very big empath," Kenzie said. "So I really enjoy taking care of other people.”
A love for coffee and the outdoors
Along with music, Kenzie has a few other passions that bring her joy, including coffee and being in nature. “And I am obsessed with coffee,” she said. “I just love caffeine so much.” Her appreciation for coffee comes with an interesting twist — she experiences a genetic quirk that makes cilantro taste unpleasant to her. “That caffeine and coffee thing also goes with the missing... like, I don't know if it's an enzyme or something, but it's just something in my tongue,” she explained. “And cilantro tastes like Dawn Sish Soap. But I love coffee, and those kind of go together.” Beyond caffeine, Kenzie finds peace in nature. “I love being outside, like being close to Earth, like weeding or gardening, anything like that,” she shared. “It's just very, like, healing. Okay. So that's something I really, really enjoy.”
Searching for connection
Kenzie dreams of finding a family or a caring adult who will support and love her. “Someone who takes care of me,” she said simply. She hopes to find someone who will genuinely be there for her in tough times. “Someone who cares, actually like genuinely cares about me and will be there when I'm having a hard time, and I'll be there for them when they're having a hard time too," Kenzie said. Even after everything she has been through, Kenzie continues to think about others first. "I will follow rules as best as I can. I think of that as, like an honor and a privilege to be invited into someone's house. Yeah, like live with them. And I will try my very best for them and for myself for sure," she shared.
Hope and optimism
Kenzie envisions a life where she can focus on being a kid, exploring school, history, art, and, of course, music. Like learning the proper finger placement on a fretboard, finding the right family takes time.“I'm still kind of figuring out who I am and what I want to be, and I feel like I need to get more exposed to that,” she explained. In the meantime, she plans to keep improving her guitar skills and learning to play her favorite songs. Through it all, she remains hopeful. “I just love life. Like when life tries to get me down, I always think like, tomorrow's a new day,” Kenzie said. To learn more about adopting Kenzie, contact Raise the Future at 801-265-0444.
