Hidayah / 2506 / ITE College East /
I am an average girl
Facebook owns me 'cuz its just the best way to stalk people.
Haters are not welcome at all.
Thursday, December 22, 2005 Thursday, December 22, 2005
This is a story of hope, fear and friendship. About a girl who had no confidence, who had no higher purpose in life, who is just as normal as you and me.
It was just last year, when I entered the Talentime competition as a JC1 student, with “More than Words” by Xtreme. It was my first time singing in a major competition, and it involved a lot of persuasion, coercion and ‘threatening’ by my well-meaning classmates. The song was a last-minute resort; I came from a SAP secondary school, and for half my life, hardly spoke English, never listened to English songs, nor cared much about English pop culture. The mere brush with the language was probably during lessons and the occasional English drama that caught my eye.
So, the talentime song was indeed a challenging one. Singing is my favourite past-time, but singing an English song and in front of so many people I didn’t know? No way!
But thanks to a special friend who suggested the song and accompanied me on his guitar, I sang my way into the finals with lesser of the stage fright and jitters. On the actual day, the gentle strains of the guitar and my unpolished voice reverberated across the hall; there was generally silence, except for my classmate’s wild cheers and catcalls. Their encouragement and chatter helped me calm down a lot more, and with a little prodding from my guitarist, we managed to pull the act off.
When the last note died down and the crowd broke into roaring applause, the results didn’t matter anymore. I felt a sense of accomplishment and relief! How many sleepless nights I’d endured, worrying that I would forget my lines and humiliate myself in front of the hundreds of strangers watching intently; perturbed that I would sound like a total chicken and tickle everyone there.
But with friends like these, I now know that, I’m not alone and will never be.
Results: I won the competition!!!! Thanks to votes from my steadfast supporters and friends; they made the girl I was then, crowned and ebullient with new-found success, but more importantly, grateful that they showed me the crystal-clear beauty of friendship. That they would be there lending me their support when I needed it, that results didn’t matter anymore than I did to any of them. I love my friends for who they are, and it’s more than words that I can give to them.
