I
have always loved singing even when I was a little girl. Both my parents can
sing that’s why maybe I inherited this talent from them. But maybe because I
was still a child, I never dreamt of becoming a professional singer when I grow
up.
My
first dream was to become a dentist. But financial constraint prevented me from
becoming one. You see, my father used to be a delivery truck driver for my
uncle’s gravel and sand business. And even at a very young age, I know that his
small salary won’t be enough to support this expensive college course.
Especially because I have three other siblings who are all studying.
During
high school, I used to sing during class presentations. And my favorite piece
was Healing by Deniece Williams. I remember during 2nd year high
school in our Speech subject with Ms. Fernandina Gonzales (I hope I remember
the name right), we were required to sing in class. One must be a duet and one,
a solo performance. I was so happy to be able to have a classmate who can sing!
Melody Salvador was heaven sent! We sang Points of View by Joey Albert &
Pops Fernandez. And maybe because we were so good (ehem!), we were requested to
perform in other sections. For solo performance, I sang Somewhere in my Past by
the late Julie Vega. These two occasions resurrected my love for music.
Ella
May Saison, dubbed as the original “Queen of Soul of the Philippines” was my
former batchmate at St. Rita College in Paranaque. She was still a nobody that time but the first time I heard
her sing, I was blown away! She sang the male parts of the duet song Always by
Atlantic Starr and it was awesome. That was the time I told myself, “I want to be
like her! I want to sing!”
When
I graduated from highschool, I took up Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service.
If you are not familiar with the course, I can be a consul, an ambassador or a charge
d’affaires. But I did not take the Foreign Service Officer’s Exam because I
told myself after graduation, I want to study conservatory of music. But then
again, financial constraint prevented me from pursuing my love for music.
Instead, I became a band vocalist for a short period of time.
Our
band’s name was Tropicz under the management of Linda Perlas. It was a show band
consisting of 4 vocalists, drummer, keyboardist, lead guitarist and bass
guitarist. Maybe you will ask why four vocalists? If one vocalist is singing,
the other three vocalists are dancing. That’s why it’s a show band. This is one of the most memorable moments of my life. However, due to inevitable circumstances, I had to leave the band. I became a full time employee of an electronics company, Pricon Microelectronics, Inc. for 23 loooooooong years.
But being a full time employee did not stop me from enjoying what I love the most. I always find time to sing - in the shower, in our bedroom, in my office table, etc. I sing practically everywhere.
Well, maybe that's not my destiny at all!
Sorry for this long post and thanks for reading.
Annyeong!
