She Brings Me to Tears

In case you have been off the planet or in the rain forest for the past week, you may just now be catching up on the newest "sensation" out of Great Britain. Susan Boyle is an ordinary woman of extraordinary talent whose voice is a sheer delight to listen to. She was "discovered" by the world on a television show that features amateur talent and wanna-be's.. This rather non-descriptive woman literally stunned the judges and the audience when she began to sing.

What makes me terribly sad is that before she opened her mouth, she was judged by her appearances. Deemed to dowdy and unattractive to possibly be worth looking at let alone listening to, the judges (including the infamous Simon Cowell) gave her a so-you-wanna-be-famous-are-you-kidding look before she launched into her performance. I loved the jaw-dropping look on Simon's face when he realized how incredibly she could sing. And of course, the audience quickly reversed it's "what you?" stance to "say what?" and gave her a standing ovation one minute into her performance.

How sad that we continue to judge others by their external packaging. She was interviewed by Diane Sawyer who, in a condescending voice, noted that the television show usually does make-overs on the contestants who make it through the ranks. Boye's response should have made the former beauty queen blush at asking such a vacuous and superficial question. It seems that Susan Boyle isn't so eager to undertake an extreme makeover. Her respone:

"I wouldn't want to change myself too much because that would really make things a bit false," she told American Morning on Friday. "I want to receive people as the real me, a real person."

You go Susan Boyle! Be yourself and not someone else's idea of how you should be packaged, particularly since you are a woman. We know that the standards for women are much more demanding than for men. Who made up these rules anyway?

Take heart. You, too, have been gifted in some way that makes you uniquely you. Don't try to fit into society's very narrow definition of who is "worthy" to be heard, seen, etc. Blossom right where you are.

And now, I will step down from the soap box I have been occupying the past couple of days. I just wanted you to know how very special you are.