I promise the Sakura Con photos and videos will be posted here soon, but I needed to get this off my chest first.
For a while now, a lot of people on YouTube have been either complaining about not being popular, or protested against opinions that stated that singing should remain fun and casual instead of uptight and professional.
One in particular really irked me, and that was Road's response.
She said that if we didn't want any attention or recognition, we wouldn't be uploading anything in the first place.
Well guess what?
I strongly disagree.
And I'll tell you why.
About a year ago, I considered quitting for the same reason many people in this community did, and that was because I didn't feel like I belonged in this community. I wasn't getting as much recognition as some of my friends and peers, and my egotistic self got annoyed and depressed because of it.
Then, something happened.
I stopped sitting in front of the computer all day and actually went out.
I met new friends that didn't act high and mighty around me. I found people to go to conventions with and have fun cosplaying with.
I met my band mates, both past and present.
Along the way, these people reminded me of something really important:
There's a reason for everything.
Including a reason why I sing. Not for the attention, not for the fame.. but for something much more important:
Those who need to hear it.
The number may be small, but it's still someone. They're still important.
The numbers didn't matter to me anymore. Point was, there were people who were willing to listen to me, and wanting to get to know me as a person. Yes, sometimes that aspect was annoying, but overall, it's what made my time on YouTube all the more worth it!
Then... recently... it was taken one step further:
Those that can sing, sing for those who want to but can't.
I have a very good friend of mine who I met at Sakura Con this past month... She has a stunning angelic voice...
...and she's about to lose it forever.
Ailments in the throat do happen, and it happened to her.
It hurts for her to sing, but she insists she does before it's taken out for good.
Her surgery is in June... and for the past month, we agreed on doing a duet sometime in the near future.
That near future is a lot closer than we had originally intended now.
Now, not only am I scrambling to make sure this is the best duet that she's ever had before June, but the stakes got higher for me, too.
"I can't sing next year at Sakura Con karaoke, so you have to sing!"
I can't enter the karaoke contest... but I can most definitely sing.
And I promised her - and I promise for anyone else who can't sing but wants to - to sing on her behalf from here on out.
Yes, it sounds dramatic, but I think she deserves it!
I can't even imagine living without being able to sing. It broke my heart, and I cried when I heard the news.
So, to Road, and to anyone else who may agree with her... The next time you say something like that... something like "we only sing publicly for attention"...
Please remember people like my friend.
~Aelita
