I admit it, I am a “talent show junkie” - American Idol, America’s Got Talent, X-Factor, you name it.
Last week, I was watching X-Factor and caught the audition of 16-year-old Jazzlyn Little. While the audition was inspiring, there is still part of me that hurts for this young girl.
Here’s why.
When you watch the lead-in to her audition, you see a girl who is riddled with nerves and insecurity. You can hear her talking to herself, reminding herself, “Relax. Relax. Relax.” She asks herself (audibly), “What if I mess up?”
You then see her talking to her mother, saying, “I don’t want to let you guys down.”
She continues, “There’s so much stress in real life. Peer pressure. Having to fit in. Being judged… singing’s an escape from reality. I can be anyone I want to be.”
Then the sentence that has been stuck in my head for almost a week…
“I don’t have to be me.”
She takes to the stage almost unable to speak because of her nerves.
Simon Cowell begins to question Jazzlyn and asks if she has posted any videos on YouTube. She says she uploaded one video, but admits that only about 500 people have watched it. Simon, wanting to know why so few people watched the video, asks her, “Do you think it was you or the song?”
She responded, “Me. I think.”
Then, she sings.
Jazzlyn received a standing ovation for her performance and incredible words of encouragement from the judges.
Yet, as she leaves the stage, she confides, “For the first time in my life, being on that stage and having everyone clap for me, I really did feel truly accepted.”
I hope truly hope Jazzlyn finds herself and her confidence through the process of the show, that she accepts herself above all else.
How about you? Are you constantly seeking the approval of others for validation? Do you fully embrace who you are? Which gifts are you withholding from the world because of fear?
This weekend was the first time I actually felt old. Perhaps more accurately, I felt “old fashioned.”
