For my college assignment, I was asked to sing a song and write about my experience of singing it. I didn’t know what to choose at first, because there were so many songs I could choose, and I wanted to choose a song that I was familiar with and liked. When I was driving, I played Westlife’s You Raise Me Up on my car player. After thinking about it for a while, I chose this song. I choose this song because it reminds me of my efforts to study abroad for myself. My love for this song comes from my parents. Westlife is my parents’ favorite band. At the end of the day, they would play this song to relieve their stress. At that time, I was also attracted by the melody of this song. I could relate to this song.
I’m a pretty positive person. Nowadays, with the development of the Internet, it is not difficult to chat with family and friends across the country. And when I heard the song again in the car, I was overwhelmed with a rare feeling of missing. I also realized that I still wanted to see my family and friends face to face. That period of hard work has occupied a very important place in my memory.
Since I decided to sing this song, I sang along with the song in the car to determine my singing style. I don’t try to imitate the lead singer. Deliberately imitating the singing style of the lead singer makes me feel uncomfortable. Deliberately imitate the singing style of the lead singer to sing, my throat felt a lot of restrictions. So I switched straight to singing in the relaxed state of driving. When I listen to my singing voice again, I sound more free. So, I don’t think we need to care too much about our level when singing. A good attitude can make us have a better voice.
Then it was time to get ready for my recording. Like I said, I always thought I just had to perform at my best. I knew I wasn’t good enough to be a lead singer. I’m not an ordinary person who can perform as well as someone else in a decade after a few weeks of training. I’m not here to sing a skilled song, I’m here to be bold. I should feel as confident about who I am as if I were driving and singing along to music. After thinking this way, I’m much better at recording videos.
I certainly didn’t just practice while driving, for this solo performance. I still had some practice. I should have practiced dozens of times before actually recording the video. The process was not dry and tasteless. On the contrary, the process was quite interesting. As I listened to my singing and accompaniment come to my mind, my memories would slowly come to me. The more I paid attention to the details of my singing, the clearer the memories became. I would think of the nights before studying abroad for the exams.
I sat in front of my desk, looking at the knowledge points I recorded, thinking about the exercises on the paper should be how to answer. That process was very boring. I put too much pressure on myself at that time. At that time, I was worried about whether I could pass the entrance exam, even though I had studied hard for it. I was so hard on myself because I had no confidence in myself. Once, because I couldn’t solve a problem for twenty minutes, I blamed myself for being useless and felt a desire to break everything around me. In order to control this nameless rage, I decided to take a break to calm my mind. I picked up the phone next to my textbook and played the song. The song from the mobile phone comforted my heart. I gradually calmed down. At that time I listened to this song, as if there was endless motivation.
It seems like only yesterday that I had a hard time. When I sing this song, I seem to be standing in front of me who is struggling hard to study abroad. Music seems to have the power to travel through time, connecting me at different times.Music keeps me going in the midst of pain and anxiety.
Sound is powerful. There is magic not only in songs, but also in the words of others. To prepare for studying abroad, if I insist on it alone, I will probably give up before halfway through the arduous journey. I succeeded in going from China to the United States across the Pacific Ocean, not only by my efforts, but also by the company and encouragement of my family and friends. Like in the song You Raise Me Up, they lift me up. “You can do it.” “Come on, it’s going to be OK.” It was their encouragement that made me stand on mountains, that made me walk on stormy seas, that made me surpass myself. These words still inspire me every time I think of them.
Now I am in a foreign country, thousands of kilometers away from my family and friends. I play this song whenever I feel down about not being able to meet them. I’ll drive alone and sing along to the music. Singing this song, their faces seemed to float in front of me. Although we are far apart, but our hearts are not far apart. The warm words of family and friends will be remembered in my heart forever. I will keep going until I stand at the top of my life.
