What is it about letting loose with your friends with the windows rolled down, basically screaming Taylor Swift, that is so unifying? What is it about singing the same three songs every night to your rubber ducky in the shower that is so empowering? Here’s to those who are not afraid to tingle their vocal chords once in awhile.

In high school, I was the opposite of a singer. I mean yes, I had a secret passion for the art, but I never really considered performing in front of a live audience. C’mon. Who would have ever thought the golf and basketball playing athlete would perform on a stage rather than the course or court? Nobody. Looking back at it, I feel like high schoolers have a tough time with defining themselves. Everyone and I mean everyone, goes through a stage of soul-searching where they might be questioning who they are and what the believe in and exactly what they enjoy in life. The problem is, most people are too afraid to show it. I know I was. There is a sort of stigma around the insecure and a standard to be secure. I was secure playing these two sports, and that is it. I mean let’s face it, that is what is attractive: someone who knows who they are with a clear path in mind for their future. Too soon. How can we expect ourselves to be a such a level of maturity with such a sliver of experience on the planet? I know I put pressure on myself to reach that level as fast as I humanly could through junior year, but I might have missed something along the way.

See my friend Felipe always enjoyed singing. He joined our school choir in middle school when we first transferred to the school together, and I never thought much of it until he invited me to come to a rehearsal the end of junior year. Why not? Boy did that change me (thanks for that). I was immediately struck during warm-ups with the amount of confidence in the room. Everyone seemed so sure of their voice. The singers seemed to even enjoy the do-ray-me scales that initiate every rehearsal. As I opened my mouth to join in, all the car ride sessions and shower operas seemed to come to fruition: I was now part of something bigger than myself. I was sold. I joined the chorus.

A test of my true confidence in this interest came when Felipe invited me to join him to sing a duet in front of our entire school. The song? I’ve got the world on the string by Frank Sinatra: a nightly bathroom routine of mine. Here was my shot to turn my passion into practice.

You ever have that feeling of complete satisfaction after landing a crumbled up piece of paper in a trash can from halfway across the room after calling “KOBE!” Yeah. That was exactly the feeling I had getting in front of 200 plus people to sing not swing or swish for the first time. Newfound happiness, newfound confidence, newfound perspective. 10/10 would highly recommend. So to those who let loose from the rigid standards defining the high school experience: you do you. In fact, do you more. It does not have to be singing. You could be painting pictures or mill knives from scratch for all I know. Why not take those shower opera skills outside of the bathroom and see how they compare to those who are not afraid to put themselves out there? What the worst thing that could happen? You might even find even more happiness than merely sticking to sports your entire four years. But hey, what do I know, I just sing in the shower.