dar-ing (d‚rng) adj. Willing to take or seek out risks; bold and venturesome.
Lately, it seems like I keep hearing about courage — in many forms. For example, this month SARK’s eLetter was entitled “We are all brave”. She says, “Bravery is not only for big steps, it’s also for all the tiny moments which we’re scared about and do it anyway. It is for when we are exhausted, wake up early, and get on a clattering train to get to work. It is when we try something new that makes us nervous. It’s making micromovements towards our creative dreams or listening to a friend when we’d rather be watching television.”
Then, I got a fortune cookie that said I would soon be presented with new opportunities and I should face them with bravery (or something close to this).
Therefore, this weekend I did something that scared me. I sang.
I used to sing in choir. I was also a soloist at my junior college. I’ve sung in parades, in concert, on stage, in gyms and many other place. But it has been many years since I’ve warmed my chord for a public audience.
Saturday night we were at the local hole in the wall, where they have Karaoke. I wanted to sing, but for some reason I was scared to death. I am not sure why, everyone is so busy drinking and playing pool they don’t really look up when people sing. And everyone else singing was pretty bad, so I knew I could be worse than most of them. But still. I was petrified.
I picked a song and signed up. I decided to sing Fiona Apple’s Criminal, mostly because I know all the words and the range is pretty easy. I started off a little shaky but after a few lines was flowing with the beat. I was confident. I belted ‘em out. People clapped, you know, if they weren’t holding a beer, nothing spectacular. The lady running the contest, told me to enter. I didn’t. Maybe next week, if I work up the courage.
