I believe in singing.
When I was in the eighth grade I transferred from a small private school to a large public Junior High. Being incredibly intimidated I didn’t know what to do, where to go, all the normal things any young teenager would feel if they were thrown into my situation.
My counselor advised me to join the choir since it was an award-winning program, and said it would be a good way to meet my fellow classmates. I took her advice.
Sitting in the choir room I felt butterflies stirring in my stomach as all my fellow classmates began to sing along with the music that had been given to them. I wanted to run out of the class, all I could think about was an escape route, and how I would get myself out of the room that seemed to be closing in on me.
Then suddenly, a girl tapped my shoulder, and asked if I wanted to follow along with her music. She went on to introduce herself after class. Her name was Caitlin Pilkington, who grew to be my best friend, and we continue our friendship today.
If Caitlin hadn’t tapped my shoulder and offered her help and friendship to me that day I wouldn’t have been the person that I am today.
I went on to sing throughout Junior High and High school where I became a member of the top choirs, pop choirs, all-region choirs, a worship leader for my church, and had the opportunity to be a lead in my school musical.
To me, singing is how I escape when the world comes crashing in on me. It is a part of me, and a sacred act that only I can control. I can take my voice with me wherever I go. It is with me when I’m afraid and feel completely alone, when I am excited and want to sing for joy. It is how I praise the Lord, who has blessed me with amazing friends, family, and life that I enjoy living everyday.
As seen in advertisements in many magazines and on television, Singing is what I call my Anti-Drug. Without it I don’t know how I would express many of my feelings and thoughts. I have had moments on stage when I feel like time has stopped, and its in those moments that I have found the true meaning in my life. Realizing the things that really matter to me. It’s those moments that I wouldn’t trade for the world.
It’s funny how some people are willing to spend a lifetime searching for “success and happiness.” People in this day and age think that success is something that you have to earn and work towards, and happiness is often portrayed as something that you can buy. I guess I should consider myself lucky, because to me, I have found my ultimate state of happiness and success has come when I am singing, whether it be the friends I’ve made through it, the family that lives to hear my voice, the God that I can praise for all my blessings, or those moments when the world stops. It’s through all these things that I have realized the one thing that I can’t live without, the one thing I most believe in, singing.