The Courage to Sing in Public

A often quoted survey states that far more people list "speaking in public" as their number one fear, even beating "fear of dying!"

As singing and speaking are almost the same thing, it is no wonder so many people are terrified to sing in front of their peers, judges etc...  While I have addressed ways to calm your nerves in a previous blog post, I wanted to write about an extraordinary experience just this week.

At Clear Creek Intermediate, approximately 20 6th to 8th grade students sang a song, memorized, with piano, in front of their parents and fellow students.  As any performer will tell you, the hardest group to sing for is family, as we want to excel for them and do not want them to judge us harshly, as we see them on a daily basis.  Not only did every SINGLE student perform their songs well, most were able to do so without showing the slightest hint of nerves.  Those that did show some anxiety still made it through their whole song without stopping.

I was truly astonished by the courage of these kids, who showed self-confidence and composure beyond their years. 

DWS

PS To all the teachers and students -congratulations!  Summer is here!