Changed for Good

I didn’t know I could sing until I was 16. Pretty much the only thing I did know at that time was that I was totally gonna marry TV’s heartthrob, Shaun Cassidy! Ok, well maybe I had moved on from that crush by then, but you get the picture. Realizing my best friend, Larissa, and I didn’t have any classes together for our 1st quarter of high school, I traded my study hall for Sophomore Choir so we could be together. I sat in the 2nd alto section with her for the first 2 or 3 weeks while Mike Hanning, our choir director, taught us basic vocal technique. He then individually ‘voiced’ us to assign us a voice part. When I was done with the vocal scales he told me I’d be singing Soprano 1. Not intending to be a smart aleck, I said, “Isn’t that the screechy high part?” He shook his head and said, “Yes.” Then as I was leaving the room he said, “You know, you’ve got some real talent there.” I’ve never considered myself to be completely stupid, but I said, “In what?” “Singing!”, he said as he again shook his head and chuckled.

I didn’t realize it was happening at the time, but as that year went on, Mike Hanning challenged me, inspired me, and became like a 2nd father to me. He took a painfully shy girl who didn’t think she was good at anything and had her singing solos & winning awards. There was another great person that helped me realize my path in the world of music. Rich Williams…he was witness to what I call my ‘magical moment’. That’s the moment (while singing Roberta Flack’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face) when I realized that singing was what I was put here on earth to do! THIS was what I would do with the rest of my life! I finally had a purpose!