If I were to give a “Chapel Talk” to my current school, what story would I tell and what lesson would I share? Well, I would tell the story of my greatest experience of insecurity and the great lesson I learned from it. It involves me, my singing talent, and this one relative of mine who thought they could use words to bring me down. But they were wrong…

So, it all started with that one relative. This person began to suggest things that I could do; such as songs to learn and place to look up where performances were held. And I took these suggestions into consideration. However, the more I took them into consideration, the more the suggestions kept coming. Then, they began to bother me.

Soon, the suggestions turned into demands. Instead of saying, “Maybe you should try learning this song,” it was “You need to learn this song; it really fits you.” Plus, they began telling me things that made me feel bad about myself, and I did not like it. This person wanted me to be like someone else. Basically, they wanted me to be someone I am not.

Suddenly, I began to feel different about myself and my voice. I felt very insecure all the time, as if I were not singing a song the way I was supposed to or my voice was just not right. Sometimes, I just wanted to give up on singing. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. So I stopped listening to that person’s “suggestions” and told someone about how I was feeling. And, from that point on, everything was taken care of.

Towards the end, the person stopped giving their “suggestions” and I began to feel good about myself again. Still, the incident affected me and there are times when I feel a little insecure about singing, acting, and even just stuff going on in my life. But I know there is always that one special person I can count on to bring me back to reality and show me how special I really am. And how special other people think I am.

So the lesson here is that you should never let people tell you who you are or how you should be, because you are your own special person. You should never have to pretend to be someone you are not. Like a friend of mine once said, “Nobody can take away the essence of who you are. Only if you allow it! Don’t allow it.” Do not be ashamed of who you are. We are who we are…