Singing the National Anthem

I have ALWAYS loved singing. As a little girl, I spent hours in my room singing with my Mariah Carey CDs–trying do hard to hit the high notes like she did and express the emotions in all the words. I wrote my own poems and songs, and continued doing that through college–in my room, alone. I was given a solo part in choir in High School and found that the anxiety of my voice being the only sound heard in the room freaked me out TOO much to even do it consistently in practice. So, this solo, this honor and acknowledgement of my gifting, was turned into a trio because of fear.

I sang the national anthem for every home volleyball game during high school—as a duet–never alone.

I sang in the worship band for my church–in the soprano section.

My gift was hidden because of the immense fear that I was not good enough to be heard or listened to.

2021 has been a year where I have grown into a new understanding and embodiment of my value and abilities.

I was given the opportunity to sing the national anthem for the Atlanta Rugby team this month. How did that happen?

Well, my husband loves to brag about me while he is networking for our business. He started talking to the Community Coordinator for the Atlanta Rugby team and while she was excited about community partnerships, she was really looking for someone to sing at a game. Brandon said that he would ask but it was unlikely that I would say yes since he knew how much I feared singing in front of anyone much less a stadium full of people!

He asked me that night, and I immediately said yes knowing that saying yes to the scary stuff is part of the growth process.

So not only did I sing (and get cheers from the crowd) but I did it while it was raining!

I conquered a fear and felt so alive for doing it.

Was it perfect? I think my voice coach will have some critiques, but did it spark joy in others and in me? ABSOLUTELY.