Now, one main thing that you should know about me is that one of my favorite passions is singing. However, if someone would have told me that last statement ten years ago as a young teen, I would not have believed you for even a second. Now, I have been singing since my freshman year of high school and I have never looked back. Since I am currently singing for the Walsh University Chorale and Chamber Singers, taking voice lessons at Walsh, singing for my friends, and anytime I feel like it, I have learned about the art of singing and how much my voice has matured and improved through the years. As well as my personality and stage presence. Here are ten reasons why I love to use my gift to carry a tune.

1. It gives me the chance to entertain in front of crowds

If you ever met me, you would certainly assume that I'm the most shy and quiet person you have ever met in your life. However, once you get me on a stage to sing in front of people, it would make you think that I have switched personalities and have an alter ego, which could be a possibility. Though it has taken me a good number of years to adjust to singing in crowds from my high school to now as a junior in college, I will say that I have greatly improved my stage presence and personality while singing in front of an audience, thanks in part to taking voice lessons. Entertaining people is one of the biggest reasons why I love to sing because nothing makes me more happy than to see the audience having a good time while I sing. It gives me a feeling of having the urge to perform as much as I can, and that my voice means something to people. When I get those feelings, I am forever grateful.

2. It has made me get to know more people and make great friends

Since I was certainly not an outstanding or even passable athlete or mathalete, I had been looking for a club or group to join in my freshman year of high school to just get involved with something and try to find a comforting place for me to fit in. Thankfully, that turned out to be my high school choir and currently my Choir and Chamber Singers group at Walsh. I enjoy singing with a groups such as a choir because it gives me the opportunity to become friends with people that share similar hobbies and interests, discover their many talents as singers and musicians, and for me to share my talent with them as well. The choirs and groups I have sang for are always tight-knit groups who love to have fun while performing with each other, and provide support for each other in whatever situation one might be in. As a result, performing in choirs has provided me with friendships that will last a lifetime and the thought of knowing that while being a quiet and shy person, I am in a group that gives me a sense of inclusiveness and comfort to do what I love.

3. It makes my family proud to witness me doing something that I love to do

Without a doubt, my family is the biggest support group in whatever I choose to do. My mother was actually the first person who ever found out that I could sing. While I never officially told her in person that I possessed this blessed talent, she knew i had it and that is because she is a mother. I have always had a sense that some parents seem to know what special talents and gifts their children have without even really witnessing it. In this case, that was how my mom felt about my voice. I can still remember the summer before I started high school and my mom telling me that I should join the choir. Like I said before, back then I never had the intention to follow through with singing because while I knew I could sing before high school, I did not like to express or show it off a lot unless there was no one around me. However, my mother was the one who felt that my voice should be removed from the hidden shadows and deserved to be heard for all to hear because she knew my voice sounded that good. Now that I have been singing for close to seven years now, I am glad to say that she was not wrong. I have and will continue to thank my mother every single day of my life for encouraging me to sing because without her support, I would not have grasped the confidence to share my voice for others to hear, and obtain the happiness I have while using my gift to perform. I am fortunate to say that my parents are able to watch me do something I love, and they, along with God, are the ones to thank for me possessing this talent.

4. It gives me something to do in the shower

That's right I said it! Ok really, who doesn't sing while their taking a shower? At one point before I sang in front of people, i acted like the shower was my concert venue, and it still is occasionally. I'm sure as heck not ashamed to sing in the shower, and you shouldn't be either.

5. Because I just love to do it, plain and simple

This last reason can pretty much be said for any job or hobby you do in your life. It has been an honor and a blast to sing in the many events and choirs I have had the opportunity to be a part of. Now as I aim to have a career in Communication after college and grow to be a better person in my adulthood, I hope to continue involving singing and music in general as part of my daily life. Could it be joining a church choir? Creating a YouTube channel to post videos of me singing songs? I don't exactly know. But I know for sure it will be involved in my later years someway. But until then, I will continue to be a belting young tenor at Walsh University and use my voice in other way that I can for the good. As my Walsh choir director Dr. Britt Cooper says to his graduating seniors after every seasonal concert, "Just keep singing."