Yeah, my life is average.

I'm going to start off-topic because I'm sitting at work, and its kind of been a dreary day--but now its thundering outside! Having grown up in Iowa, its one of the things I miss most now that I live in Utah. This is the first time I've heard thunder here in at least a year but probably much longer. Something about thunder is just very calming to me...maybe its the reminder that there is something bigger than me out there. :)

A couple weekends ago, my dad came to visit. It was fun: we looked at cars together, went out to eat a few times, and I even cooked the rosemary cream filet mignon for him (he enjoyed it). Before my dad came over that night and while I was cooking, I plugged in my iPod and kind of let myself go, singing along. I had a grand old time. Later that night I went downstairs to my brother's house to give them my rent. While we were talking, my sister-in-law asked "who was singing up in your apartment this afternoon?? It was SO loud! All I could think was that whoever it was should not try out for American Idol!" Embarassed, I then admitted that it had been me.

This experience, plus the coincidental post my friend Eliza made on her blog about her life being average, made me realise that yeah...my life is pretty average too.

Now, I've never really thought that I was an amazing singer. I don't have my own fan page on Facebook and I'm not trying to make any record deals or anything like that. But having someone say outright that I was not a good singer--that was a definite ego-crusher. And then I realised, "wow, I really am rather average." In high school I knew that I'd probably never make any money singing, but still, I got into the intensely-competitive All-State choir 2 years in a row, got high scores in other singing contests, and my choir teacher loved me. I got a couple solos in my first musical in 10th grade, and a lead role in South Pacific my senior year. All of these things made me feel pretty good about myself. Not in a boastful way--but just knowing that I was pretty good at something. Since high school, the only choir I've really been in was Scandinavian choir at BYU my freshman year. And yes, it was almost as ridiculous as it sounds. I liked the songs, but we weren't that good of a choir. After that, I sang in some quartets (and one accidental solo) on my mission.

So, it was quite a shock for me to realise that really, my voice is absolutely nothing special. I think it had been coming on for a while, but then it really hit me. And...thats ok. The funny thing, however, is how in high school, students are always told "you're great!" "good job!" "wow!" sometimes with stickers that match. But in reality? We're just average. I was ok at singing, because I tried harder than other people. I got good grades, but I'm no genius. I'm not ugly, but I'm no model. I'm not poor, but I'm most definitely not rich.

So, in conclusion, we should all be happy to be average. And who knows what average really means? Its rather open to interpretation. And, whatever average is, its not so bad. Everyone's a little bit average (cue Avenue Q music): even celebrities are average (I know, big shocker)--they may have tons of money or some mad singing/acting skills, but they sure suck at other things. Like dancing, for example. Or being a famous leader.

Thus, I'm kind of happy to be average--because it doesn't mean anything!