So, I think a little background about why this was a particularly uncomfortable task is in order. I am tone deaf. But, I didn’t know that as a 6-year-old. My family was on vacation and we stopped and visited some friends of my parents. My dad’s friend loved singing and had a super early version of a karaoke-like machine called the Singing Machine.

He busted it out while we were there and we all took turns singing. I sang Elvira by the Oak Ridge Boys with my dad (if you ever wonder why I don’t like country music, it’s because I grew up listening to things like Elvira). I sang it loud and I sang it proud. And in my head, when I was singing, I sounded great. I really nailed those giddy-up-um-bop-a-mow-wows. I was excited to hear the recording because I had never heard myself sing before and I thought I was good…

I have a terrible, terrible memory but I still remember this vividly. When the recording started, I could hear my dad’s voice and I could hear this terrible voice singing along with him, but where was my voice? Oh no! THAT TERRIBLE VOICE IS MY VOICE! How did I not know that I couldn’t sing? Why did no one ever tell me?

Needless to say, it kind of scarred me for life. I still sing in church, and I’ll sing with my family or some super-close friends that I’m really comfortable with. But I know that I sound terrible and quite frankly it’s embarrassing. But, I was determined to sing it loud and proud at karaoke, and I have to say, mission accomplished.

We had a fun group turn out, so thanks for everyone who came to laugh at, I mean support me. We rented a room at Zillers in Fullerton and sang for three hours straight. Yes, it was a bit uncomfortable at first. And yes, I still sound terrible (you’ll see – it’s in the video at the bottom of the post), but we had so much fun.

I think one of the keys to how much fun we had was the fact that David Krake was there. If you are uncomfortable with karaoke and want to go and have a blast – invite someone like David. He was singing duets with everyone, kept having us do “pass the mic” songs, and made sure that everyone was involved. The first song that I sang for the night was with him and he made it no big deal.

Some other highlights – My nephew Matt rapping, James Lander singing Gangster’s Paradise with David, Anastasia Lander’s Bohemian Rhapsody, singing Sweet Child of Mine with Ann, Uncle Danny and Aunt Sally coming, and singing (yelling?) Livin on a Prayer with Ann.

Again, I’m finding that the farther out of my comfort zone that I go, the more fun that I’m having. This literally could not get any farther out of my comfort zone. Singing in front of people is just not something that I do. And I’m still totally embarrassed to post this video of myself singing, but I’m going to do it because I said that I would. So I hope y’all enjoy it because I had a ton of fun making it.

Takeaway

It really is fun to get a group of people together and do something totally stupid. And it does really help to have someone like David there who will lead the charge and make sure that the ice is not only broken but shattered. I am really seeing how important other people are in the process of getting out of your comfort zone and it being a fun process. I so often like to do things on my own and I’m seeing how the encouragement and accountability of others can push me to be/do so much more.

Video Proof

 

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