I had always been afraid.
Afraid of what people thought of me
Afraid of being a failure
Afraid of being a success
I was petrified of looking stupid
Especially in front of women
And that fear held me hostage.
Held me back.
Held me captive.
Until
One night on a date
We found ourselves in a karaoke bar
She was on edge
Hoping I would get up and sing for her
But the fear kept me seated
I wanted to.
But I couldn’t break free.
I never saw her after that night
It was all my fault
And I learned my lesson
I forced myself
To get on that stage
And sing.
It took weeks, but I did it.
Standing on that stage
The microphone in hand
The crowd drunk and easy to please
I let myself be free
I gave the fears away
I sang with all my heart
And surprised even myself
It got easier after that
And each time I stepped on stage
I cared a little less
About what people thought
About whether I would fail
About whether I would succeed
About whether I looked foolish
The answer to all was yes
But it didn’t really matter
I was free
Free to...