How can I keep from singing?

This is a story of a most unexpected journey — one that is just starting. If somebody had told me four years ago that I’d be writing this today, I would have stared at them in astonishment or laughed dismissedly. Yet here I am, writing about a late-found hobby that has somehow become a very important part of my life.

It almost feels like making a confession. Deep breath. Okay, here we go:

In 2022, at the age of 38, I’ve picked up singing.

Background

I’ve always viewed people who could “do music” — whether singing or playing an instrument — with reverent admiration. They were born, I felt, gifted in a way that I was not: with a talent to produce beautiful things out of sound. Seen from outside, this seemed like arcane magic: a world that I can admire, but having a border I cannot transgress.

Sure, I liked listening to music. Like almost everybody else, I have acquired a musical taste over time, and I find enjoyment in experiencing music that is to my taste. I’ve long found myself humming along to songs I know and like. I would sometimes sing in the shower, when I knew nobody was listening. In short, I was an everyman.

But to actually sing, you know, out loud, with all of myself? In front of people?

And then things happened.

Twist of fate

It started with someone falling off a horse.

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