Yes, she sings

People who know me know that I like to sing, but I’m not a professional singer. I wouldn’t even consider myself to be a good singer, but I’ll let my neighbors judge that. Singing just happens to be one of my favorite things. Last December, I was looking forward to singing. When we have family gatherings, my dad usually puts the beamer on, and the usual people (my father, uncle, aunts (sometimes), and myself will sing the whole night. My dad is the last man standing (with the microphone) most time. The last few times, even my little cousins joined in. It has been a tradition to do karaoke on birthdays and holidays ever since I turned 24 in 2015.

December mucous and sadness

Sadly, but somehow to be expected, I got sick on my first day of vacation in December. My mind wanted to rest and have fun, but my body had other plans and screwed me over. Ever since I got covid, at the beginning of 2021, I can’t drink cold beverages anymore. Well, I mean I could, but seconds later, my throat and chest would fill up with mucous (gross, I know). With that said, I only had two sodas during my entire vacation, while everybody else enjoyed themselves with carbonated sugared water. I was glad that nobody stared at me judgementally whenever I coughed. A year before, it would have been a whole other story.

It was still a bummer because I couldn’t do any singing during the holidays. After Christmas, I lost my voice a bit and it made me sad because I couldn’t sing. I usually sing to make myself feel better, and I always feel so relaxed after singing a few songs.

Something familiar, something new

There was this time, I can’t remember the occasion when it was only my parents, my husband, and I. There were a few more people, but I can’t remember who. My sister was most likely in bed by then, and my brother usually is out of sight and doesn’t want anything to do with people or karaoke, just cake and snacks (can’t blame him). Whenever I sing, I like to go back to familiar songs. “Como Una Flor by” Selena, “Antología” by Shakira, and “Linger” by The Cranberries, just to name a few. When I was a teenager, and even in my early 20’s, I was most inclined towards the ’80s and ’90s music, so a little bit of Journey, REO Speedwagon, Bon Jovi, Poison, and Guns N’ Roses. Don’t get me wrong, I still listen to them, but they don’t bring me the same joy that I felt while singing them back then. Plus, in retrospect, a few of them were jackasses. Oh, and nowadays I can’t stand Bryan Adams, so cheezy (sorry, not sorry). 

I rarely get out of my comfort zone when I sing. Firstly, I don’t want to ruin my vocal cords. Secondly, and most importantly, I don’t want to embarrass myself, not even in front of my family. Well, one day I got courageous. I wanted to sing something new. A song that I had never sung before. At first, I felt nervous, but I felt good about my choice. I typed the title in the search bar on YouTube. 

In case you haven’t guessed, it was Breakeven by The Script.

My husband always gets excited when I sing. He knows that it’s not always easy for me to express myself and show the world who I am and what I can do. We have been on this journey for quite some time, and he knows what my top five songs are (most of the time). Usually, I sing when I’m in the shower, doing the dishes, or grocery shopping. So I was expecting him to know the song.

When he saw the song on the screen, it meant nothing to him. I was hoping to get a reaction from him but surprisingly, nothing. I’m not sure what kind of reaction exactly. Maybe a thumbs up for trying something new? 

The song itself was released in 2008 as the third single of The Script’s first album, but I would only discover it about ten years later. YouTube’s algorithm brought the song to me while I was at work. The song organically came to me (when I needed it). I wasn’t only listening to it, but I was also singing it almost every day. 

Major klutz (pun intended)

I should have said this at the beginning of the article, but I’m not much of a musical person. I appreciate and love music like the rest of the population, but I don’t know how to play an instrument, I can’t read musical notes, and I don’t know the technical words and terminology that musicians use. For the sake of this article, and future articles about music, I’ll do my best not to write nonsense.

I always look at my husband’s face before I start singing, for some last-minute encouragement. 

I’m still alive but I’m barely breathing. Just praying to a God that I don’t believe in. 

I turned to look again. Then I finally got something out of him, but it wasn’t what I was hoping. His face looked both surprised and confused at the same time. I couldn’t finish the song that day. I only got to the second verse when I stopped to give the microphone to my dad. You could say that I underestimated that song a bit. 

Falling to pieces

When I approached my husband he said shyly: I thought you wrote that song. I stood in silence for a second, and then I started to laugh. I was quite flattered, to be honest. I asked him why he thought such a thing, and he said it was because the lyrics sound like me, and mostly because he heard me sing the intro all the time when I discovered the song. He looked me in the eyes and said that he thought it was a project in progress. So that’s what happened. My husband thought I wrote this song, and if I hadn’t pushed myself that day to sing something new, perhaps he would still be thinking that I’m the author of Breakeven. So, it was a good thing that I felt gutsy that day. The fact that he thought that I was capable of writing such a masterpiece shows that he thinks highly of my writing. Thanks, J.

After last week’s article, I wanted to write something lighter with a bit of humor. I hope you enjoy this, and let me know what you think.

Ayo. Te otro siman!