New Year, New Me: Music, Singing, and Dancing

I mostly write about fashion, beauty, and health. There is also the occasional post about unique food and beverage brands that I try and like. This post is more personal and may not be of relevance to you since it has to do with my own goals and action plan.

My love of musical instruments
I have always loved music, dance, and art. I grew up in a strict family who blocked every attempt I made to learn music and dance. As a child, I signed up for summer school in order to secretly take music classes. This was back when school districts had money, and summer school was not a punitive measure. I learned how to read music during those two summers, and learned how to play the violin and flute in a brief period of time. Sadly, over time, I forgot what I learned during those summer months.

Why did my family block me from learning music? It was simply based on the fact that I'm a girl. They were a hindrance to every potential creative idea I had or wanted to explore. They did not allow me to take dance lessons, and refused to pay for music lessons because they wanted to spend their money on the "American dream" of owning a home, and to pay for my brothers to have what I could not. They accomplished what they wanted, and I don't hold a grudge against them, but I will never forget the way they treated me, and how well they treated my brothers.

My love of dance
Fast forward 20 years, and here I am. This is the year of action - if not now, when? I grew up listening to hip hop, R&B, jazz, and oldies music. I love rhythm and groove, so at the beginning of the year, I signed up for a hip hop dance class! I'm on my second lesson and it definitely takes me out of my comfort zone, but I'm enjoying every minute of it.

My instructor told me I was a natural! I can only wonder where life would have taken me if my family had recognized potential, and encouraged me to go for my dreams. Who knows? Perhaps I still have time to explore creative avenues!

My love of music and singing
I also decided to get back to my love of music. I enjoy singing, but I'm afraid of being judged for not sounding good enough. I can carry a tune, but when I lived with my parents, my mom made fun of me and told me I sounded like a child when I sang (at 14, I was a child). Needless to say, the environment and people were abusive, and I have moved on from that world.

I'm starting to take voice lessons online. I'm trying out a wonderful new program, which I will be writing about very soon! My next plan of action will be to take piano lessons when I can afford them.

I'm very much excited to work on my vocals, musical abilities, and dancing. Most importantly, I'm glad to finally be improving my confidence that I will succeed in these areas!

I know that there are other girls out there who have had or currently have a similar situation in which they are restricted from accomplishing what they want, simply based on gender. I'm writing this in hopes of empowering other girls and women to go for what you want! Best of all, I feel more empowered than ever to finally take action.

I hope that one day I can encourage and help others accomplish their goals. I don't know how exactly I can do that yet, but I have plans. Once I am done with my vocal lessons, I hope to be more confident, and confident enough to share them with all of you!