Since I was a little girl, I've liked to sing. I'm not sure that there was one thing in particular that got me started, but once I started singing, I quickly realized the benefits. One of those benefits was that I got to open my big mouth. I'm a talker. I look for any and every opportunity to share my ideas and my opinions, even when they aren't asked for. I tell myself that someone's thoughts make up the very essence of who they are. And I think that's true. But the other half of that is that I just like the sound of my own voice.

When I was little, I was awkward and nerdy.  I still am, and I guess it doesn't matter as much any more, but as a kid, being weird is a problem. If I had something to say, I said it. And usually got into trouble. If I decided to be smart for once and wait until I was allowed to say something, I screwed around until I could talk. And usually got in trouble. I had all of these things to say and no one to say them to. No one had time to listen.

But when I sang, that was different. I started to sing and everyone paid attention. Even if I wasn't great--and I've seen the videos, I was awful--still they listened. I could find songs that fit exactly what I was tinking--drums when I was angry, piano when I was sad. And as I found different songs that expressed who I thought I was, I started to change. I didn't get in trouble anymore, my grades went up, I made some friends. But I still felt I needed people to to understand why I was changing, how music was affecting my life. So I started singing onstage. I started at church, worked my way to school, and so on. I felt that now people could see who I was, howI felt, what made me change. Singing made me a better person.

I still have trouble saying what's up here somtimes. Sometimes I'll say something, and it's not really what I'm trying to say. But now I can find some music, and it'll tell me what I'm trying to say, it'll organize the mess of words in my head into something that I couldn't have made on my own. Thanks to singing, I know who I am. Thanks to singing, I'm me.