When Someone Tells You That You Can’t

Rejection can be the motivation that helps you grow.

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When I was young, my parents took me to a singing teacher. That teacher told me that I was talented in my ability to emotionally interpret a song. But, my voice was below average. Without a good voice, it’s virtually impossible to make it as a singer. I didn’t give up. I kept singing all throughout my school years. I was always the one who blended into my school choruses. I never successfully auditioned for any solo. For some reason, my rejections prevented me from projecting high notes. My voice inevitably cracked, strained, and halted when I reached the climax of any song.

At the age of 13, I became comfortable with simply blending into my section of the chorus line.

Then, life handed me a gift. Due to my childhood traumas, I became wary of people. I was cynical whenever someone told me to do something in a certain way. In time, I decided to not conform. Since I didn’t trust people, I also didn’t trust people when they told me that I didn’t measure up.

My instinct was always to show these people that they were wrong about me.

I kept singing, loudly, happily, and without a care of how I sounded. In my childhood, whenever I was lonely, I belted out a song in the shower. For a while, neighbors were knocking on our door telling me to stop pretending to be Mariah Carey.

After my voice changed in puberty, I found it much easier to sing. One day, in college, I finally found my voice in a Karaoke singing with my friends. By the time I reached my 20s, one of my favorite past times was singing with friends.

One night, I was singing “My Way” in an open bar Karaoke, a man told me that I had a big voice like one of those African American girls. I was blown away.

It was the best compliment I had ever received from singing. I was ecstatic.

It literally took me 10 or more years to reach this point. I was no longer ashamed of my voice. Instead, I embraced my voice and made it work for me. I had to reach a certain point of confidence not just in singing but also in life.

If I gave up singing while young after being told that I didn’t have a good voice, I would’ve never been able to feel the happiness at discovering that I had a voice inside of me after all.