My first words were the rhythms of music. Ever since I can remember, I have had a strong passion for singing, which kept getting stronger as I got older. As Plato once said, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to imagination and life to everything”. Singing is everything to me. It has connected me with my inner soul and given me a lot in life. Anyone who has ever heard my voice, which wasn’t more than about six people a few years ago, really admires it, but my mom is my biggest fan. Whenever we went to visit our relatives, she would always want me to sing something for everyone. Sometimes I would sing if they were just people that I was really close to, but most of the times, I couldn’t bring myself to sing even a single word. .
I used to be a timid, self-conscious and a shy girl. I mean, really shy. People thought of me as awkward and weird for “not talking”. I was judged for it alot. Even the thought of presenting in class increased my heart rate. My palms would start sweating, my face would appear slightly flushed, and I wished I would become invisible. Shyness was stopping me from doing all sorts of things that I loved, the most important to me being singing. As much as I loved singing, I wanted to show my passion to the world. I wanted to be the voice of souls, the only thing coming in my way was my low confidence. I never knew a singing competition would not only make me come one step closer to my dream of singing but would also gift me with confidence for the rest of my life.
One day, in school, my music teacher, one of the few who knew about my hidden singing talent, gave me a pamphlet that said “Singing Competition”. My heart skipped a beat when I read it and realized that she wanted me to participate. My mom got really excited and said, “People will finally know about your talent, dear. This is going to be a great thing for you”. I never in my life thought that I would do something like this but I was tired of giving up. I knew I had to do this, for myself and for the people I loved. So, I did it. When the big day arrived, I had all kinds of feelings going through my mind. I was stressed, excited and really nervous. Presenting a confident image in public never came naturally to me. I had to find enough self-esteem from within to be able to push myself toward the mic and sing. When I told my mom about the competition, I knew she was excited because she thought this would give me self confidence and she was right.
After so many struggles to get the courage to sing, I was announced as the winner! I felt so satisfied and happy with myself, and yes, I overcame my shyness. Everyone was cheering and clapping for me. I was so proud of myself. Long story short, I was able to gather up my nerves, surprising others but especially myself by winning. And because of my accomplishment I realized I could do better than I thought, so I tried again at another competition. Then another. Somewhere along the way, I gained my confidence. Sounds like a clichéd happy ending, doesn't it? Although a common piece of advice is to be "you"," I dont believe that my former personality was the best version of myself, nor was it the best I could become. In the fairy tale world, Cinderella finds her escape from the confines of her world and her stepmother's orders, and singing was mine, away from the limitations of my former personality. I can honestly say I am a 100% different person than I was a few years ago, and I couldn't be happier. My personality and character don’t fit inside the confines of shyness anymore. Shyness no longer controls me.
