Biggest Fear

There should be nothing scary about standing up in a crowded room of strangers to sing a Karaoke song right? Here are my current thoughts on singing at a Karaoke bar:

1. You'll most likely never run into these people again, ever!
2. It is perfectly acceptable to snicker and boo at really bad singers.
3. In a worst case scenario, you can run off the stage or just speak the words!
4. Wearing a costume helps disguise the real "You" or so I've been told.
5. Only the professionals bring their own CD's so it is cool if your voice cracks.
6. Doing it on a dare may be good motivation if you are a highly competitive person.
7. Never tell any of your friends that you want to try Karaoke.
8. Never put Karaoke on your ultra-important 101 List.
9. If possible sing only at an out of town establishment.
10. Practice your song at home in front of the mirror!

Having said all of this I can now admit that I did not follow my own list of "rules". That's right, I finally knocked Karaoke off my 101 List!! I got up in front of a room of perfect strangers and belted out my own squeaky version of PEACEFUL EASY FEELING by the Eagles, which in itself is strange because Allen loves the Eagles and I'm not a big fan. And to be honest, the crowd consisted of pure Karaoke regulars who cheered me on! They were motorcycle loving, patriotic, beer drinking folks, but they were also kind & enthusiastic.

But, I'm getting a little ahead of myself here: I often scouted out the local Karaoke nights, but lived with a deep fear of actually putting myself up in front of strangers to sing. In fact, I even asked my family if it counted if I sang in the comfort of our living room. To my dismay they said, "Nope!" So, we picked out a specific honky tonk and date to do this thing. For the past week I tried desperately to weasel out of my commitment and went so far as to blame my family for conspiring against me~pretty sad.

But despite all of my many delay tactics, Friday night arrived and we drove to said honky tonk. It was immediately apparent we were the new people in a crowd of regulars. But the Karaoke maestro introduced himself and went to great lengths to put us at ease. In due course, I took a song book and browsed through umpteen song choices and picked one. Peaceful Easy Feeling ended up not being the perfect choice for my vocal range, but in the end it didn't matter. The regulars and my own cheering section pulled me through, so much so that I got up to do another song.

For me, jumping out of an airplane was still easier in some ways than singing. Karaoke is so much like the Public Speaking Class I told in High School and hated. But conquering another fear and wanting to go back for another Karaoke round proved to me that a fear is only a fear if you let it consume you. And I'd like to give props to my husband who got up to sing, and our daughters who wowed the crowd with dance moves and pure attitude! Yep, attitude.

In the end, our new friends waved Goodnight and gave us hugs. They asked when we'd be back. I guess it will be soon enough. For now, I will practice in front of my mirror and work up some "attitude!"