Dear....A Letter of Forgiveness
I wrote this in April 2017, I was at what I thought was rock bottom...
Dearā¦, I forgive you. I thought that I already had, and I thought I worked through it allā¦but I was wrong. I had my recital three weeks ago, and the entire time I felt so anxious and uneasy. Itās easy to hide these fears while on opera stage because I can hide behind a character, but itās different when I have to present myself⦠present the person that I barely know. I forgive you.
Ā I finally told my new voice teacher, actually two, and I finally told one of them everything that Iāve been wanting to say about what happened in those two years. How much it changed meā¦and broke me⦠I forgive you. She suggested that I write this, because at this point, this is my rock bottom, and never have I felt so much suppose and love from everyone. When I was trying to run from all the pain, it was weighing on me physically and emotionally, and I was cracking more and more daily⦠I forgive you.Ā
This past Sunday in church, the sermon was about forgiveness. I forgive you. Itās hard for me to write this, because I tend to repress bad memories, but this has caused me the most pain. Itās been almost a year since our last we were together, but itās been one of the most difficult times that Iāve had in a while. When I moved up here almost three years ago, I did because I trusted that you were the right choice, and that I would finally live up to my full potential. The first year was rocky, filled with changed and new techniques, but I was still holding strong, even if my confidence was taking a beating. I listened to your every word, followed your every command, and in the process I started to lose myself⦠I started to forget why I enjoyed singing in the first place. It became more of a chore than a passionā¦it was mechanicalā¦but it seemed to be right by your standards and of those who heard me⦠I tried to be perfect and be the singer you wanted me to be, but I found that I was losing myself in the process and pushing my closest friends and family away, so they wouldnāt know my internal struggle. Those of us with you, laughed to hide the pain that we really felt. I just wanted to make you proud, even if it meant I wasnāt happy. Butā¦Ā I forgive you.Ā
At the end of the first year, I went against you..and auditioned for the opera because there was a role that I just KNEW I could do well. I got itā¦but you werenāt happy, and you let me know it. I recorded every lesson, even though I hated it at times because I would have to hear my tears. I forgive you. The second year was when I could no longer recognize the person that I become. Who is this girl lacking self confidence, afraid to sing in front of people, crying after every lesson, crying while practicing, pushing her voice until there was nothing left⦠who is this robot? Who is this alien? Who is this stranger? I forgive you.
I spent this past year trying to get through my last year as fast as possible. I wanted to leave it all behind and move on to happier times... but in the end it all caught up with me. I never healed/grieved our break up in a healthy way. Instead of healing by finding things that I liked, I instead tried to make myself super busy so I would forget about it. At first this worked perfectly fine... and then it didn't.