SOMETIMES real life can get in the way of champagne wishes and caviar dreams.

For Tiffany Ganotisi, three-time Brown Bags to Stardom winner and 2008 Farrington High School graduate, making it big-time as a singer/songwriter remains a lofty goal as she prepares to leave her teen years behind.

Like countless others before her, the 19-year-old struggles to juggle the demands of work and school while also pursuing a romantic relationship. Still, she remains confident a time will come when she can focus all her energy on creating music.

“;I plan on going to (New York University),”; Ganotisi said matter-of-factly earlier this week. “;That way, I can do my music and get my business education.

“;My cousins have been up there and have seen people on the street make it big. Maybe if I can get on a corner up there, then I can make it, too.”;

AS A second-generation Filipino-American, Ganotisi's childhood in Kalihi will sound familiar to many other families from the neighborhood.

Her parents married in the Philippines prior to emigrating to the United States when Ganotisi's father was 19 years old himself. He enlisted in the military shortly after settling in Honolulu, with Ganotisi's mother staying home and raising their three children.

The youngest in the family, Ganotisi remembers hearing her mom singing in the house and music being a big part of family celebrations. Along with music by artists such as Lauryn Hill, the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, she looked to her older sister for direction.

“;I started off singing because of my sister,”; said Ganotisi. “;She sings, so I wanted to sing, too.”;

Ganotisi credits local band First Verse as her inspiration for learning to play guitar. Once she mastered a few basic chords, cousin (and Hometown Heroes member) GJ Ganotisi stepped in to help develop her skills.

“;She used to write songs and melodies and then come to me and ask me to put chords to it,”; GJ Ganotisi said. “;Now, she comes to me with a whole song, and we work on a beat for it.”;

With some of the guys from Hometown Heroes as a backing band, Ganotisi entered her first Brown Bags competition in 2007 and won the award for “;Best Female Artist.”; She returned in 2008 to repeat as “;Best Female”; and also won the award for “;Best Song”; with her original composition, “;Indulgence.”;

“;IT WAS more about the chance to show a different type of song,”; Ganotisi replied when asked what inspired her to enter the Brown Bags competition. “;That's my most important thing—the lyrics in the song.

“;A lot of music nowadays is about whatever rhymes, and I like the deeper subjects.”;

Ganotisi has written approximately 100 songs since 2005, although a number of them are only partially completed. They range in style from punk and alternative to reggae and R&B.

“;I like all of it,”; she said. “;Although I guess dance and techno I wouldn't know how to do ... I haven't really gone to those areas.”;

The only thing holding her back these days is a full schedule of college classes and shifts at a local coffeehouse. Ganotisi hopes to earn her associates degree in accounting from Leeward Community College, then move to the mainland.

“;But I've been trying to concentrate more on my songs,”; she said. “;I haven't written a song since January 2008.”;

To help inspire her creativity, Ganotisi is beginning to perform on a more regular basis. Wednesday's appearance at In Ya Face Improv's New Year's Bash 2009 will be her mainstream nightclub debut.

“;I've been invited to those kinds of (nightclub) parties with my friends, but ... I don't think I even know how to drop it like it's hot,”; she said with a laugh. “;But I'm really excited to perform at this one, because I get to work with the In Ya Face guys.”;