Baby Got Backbone

Greetings happy people!!

It was a Friday night. I was in a smoky, dimly lit bar standing on a stage with a microphone in my hand. This was in front of strangers I don’t know!! What I was about to do was going to be one of those unforgettable nights for I was about to sing my first ever song at a karaoke bar.

Yes, one of my livelihoods is speaking in front of people, but this was different, I am not in one of my relaxed settings at a Toastmaster meeting. Instead I was in a strange place with people staring at me. On the outside, I looked calm and very cool. But on the inside, I was nervous and a bit frightened - wondering if this was a smart thing to do.

As the music was getting ready to start, I had two choices: get off the stage and run OR throw caution into the wind and milk the fun out of it. Thankfully, I chose the latter.

The first song I ever sang (or rapped) was the classic 1992 song “Baby Got Back” by Sir-Mix-a-Lot. Luckily I knew the lyrics to the whole song. Once I uttered those first words (“I like big….”) I was on fire!!

During the performance, I realized that more people were getting on the dance floor and I decided to be in the middle of the action –shaking my booty and rapping to the beat. Once the song ended, I conquered another feat as the audience cheered my performance!!

Now I would occasionally attend karaoke bars and have fun on the stage. Whether it is Rick James “Super Freak” or Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night” or even Digital Underground’s “The Humpty Dance,” I would find myself having more fun each time I am performing in front of people that are into having a great time!!

This was an example on how trying something new can be awesome!! Imagine if I had got off the stage in the beginning. That would have been a closed door opportunity not knowing what could have happened. Fortunately, I was able to have the guts and curiosity to experience this new thing called karaoke.

Everyday people are trying new things and are realizing that it doesn’t hurt – unless it is skydiving with no parachute of fire eating with gasoline lip gloss. There is nothing wrong with going out there and doing what you want to do. The only person that would prevent yourself from doing something new is YOU!! If you really have the urge to try something out like singing at a karaoke bar, eating exotic foods, or travelling to a place you never been before – JUST GO DO IT - because you will end up feeling better for what you have done!! And that is something we ALL can sing to.


That is all I have for now. Take care and thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,


Jesse I-I-I