Perserverance, thick skin....

Am writing this to remind myself again how lucky I am to be doing what I love, singing. The strength of an artist shows when she is going up stream, not when she is succeeding in a roll, or when she basks in a glorious applause by appreciative audience.

The catch 22 situation of my busier singing schedule is that the more I among with highly qualified singers, the more I'm reminded (and comparing) of how late I started to sing, and how many of my peers are blessed with what some of us called `the golden voice'...

"But you have to stand up straight, before an audition panel..."said Nicole who is consistently at her best in all situations.

It's only human nature that we tend to make comparisons, I have been told numerous times to stay focus in my own performance. It's not hard to see that the more matured young singers do that, they do their best with what they have instead of fretting over others.

Another sure way of encouraging myself is listening to recordings and watching a live performance or DVDs; by watching how Renee Fleming talk about well-written music, how she delivers the pain in a great tragic aria, or how she croons love in a Broadway number.

Most of the time you can always be charmed by a great piece of music, how beautiful the text is and how gorgeous the lyrical line goes...these are superb ingredients for a great performance. A perfect performance by a singer is never an easy task, precision couple with good technique, not forgetting singing with the best color (of voice), sincerity that will sure get to the audience.

Strength also lies in how thick your skin is, perseverance. There were times I thought I would die from heart sick for losing yet again in a competition, or audition. Now I tell myself the picture is clear and simple, I will do it to my heart's content, trying, singing, kicking and screaming till I get sick of it. Maybe if I get sick, I will recover, and do it all over again.