Personal Perspective Piece
By Emily Davis
I grew up with music all around me. Singing runs in my family.
If my mom wasn’t singing to me there was music playing in the background. I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember but I would rarely sing for people. I was very shy as a child and the idea of people listening to me sing was terrifying to me.
When I was in the seventh-grade I decided to participate in the talent show. What made me want to do that is still a mystery but I did it anyway. If I had the chance to go back and listen to that performance now, I would probably cringe. But just the fact that I got on stage and sang was a huge accomplishment.
I wasn’t planning on signing up for the talent show my eighth-grade=year, but as it got closer a friend began to ask if I was going to participate. This gave me just the right amount of confidence I needed. I ended up with a second-place finish that year.
After this, more people started complimenting me on my voice. All this talk got me a spot on the worship team at church. Being on the worship team made me fall in love with singing even more. At first I would get very nervous before I would go on stage but as time went on that got easier.
I decided to join the high school choir my freshman year. This decision changed a lot of things for me. I learned how to read and understand music, I met a lot of very talented people, and most importantly, I learned how to understand my voice.
Throughout high school I became known for singing the cutesy Disney songs and having the “sweet voice.” This was fun for a while but it grew old and I got older.
It wasn’t until after I graduated high school when I broke out of my “sweet voice” shell. I joined the Maids of Petroleum for the Oildorado celebration. I knew that I would have to have to talent for the pageant and that it was obviously going to be singing.
The hard part was what song to sing. I knew it had to stand out against the other singers in the competition. After listening to many different songs I finally decided on “Taylor the Latte Boy” by Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich.
I practiced this song for months so when it was finally time to perform it I was both nervous and ready to get it over with. The audience response was much better than I expected. This was the first time people, besides my family, were talking about a performance of mine for more than a day.
Because of this one performance I have been asked to sing the national anthem at the Kern County Raceway and the Taft Little League opening ceremonies. Now people are recognizing me as a more versatile singer.
Being a singer is complicated. It took a lot of nerve to get on stage for the first time. Once I stepped out of my comfort zone everything became comfortable with being on stage. Of course, I still get nervous and freak out right before I go on stage but when I walk off the stage it’s all worth it.
I may not be the best singer but singing makes me happy and it’s something that I’ll have forever.
