～ a story about my favourite grandmother, by Sophie Qian (11 years old)
I was sitting in my room when I saw a dusty gold trophy sitting proudly at the corner of my study desk. I picked it up, curious what the achievement was for. I dusted the dust off with my fingers, when the wordings were clear, it read, “SCY 2023 1st”.
I held the trophy tight, as a collection of memories ignited in my brain…
“You held me down, but I got up, get ready cause I’ve had enough, I see it all I see it now, I got the eye of the tiger!...'' I sang, as I was practising for the Singing Competition for Youths (SCY).
I was singing my favourite song “Roar” by Katy Perry.
The reason why I liked it was because I liked the heroic vibe of the song, as it gave me motivation whenever I felt like giving up.
The reason why I was practising so hard was because the Singing Competition for Youths (SCY) was the most important contest of my life, as far as I was concerned. It was important for me because, first of all, I had put in a lot of hard work.
Second of all, the judges needed to select one participant, which would be the winner, to sing the national anthem in front of the president and the whole of the nation on national day the following year. However, there was just one bottleneck, and that was that my parents were both against the idea of singing, because they thought it was irritating with all those soundtracks. That was also why, I needed to prove to my parents that I was truly talented in singing. Luckily though, I still had my grandma to support me. She was an excellent vocal coach, so since I was young, she taught me how to sing. She made me even more talented in singing every time one session was over. Grandma tried persuading my parents to support me in my dream of becoming a singer, but my stubborn parents were like two blind birds pecking at the air.
They suggested that singing was a stupid endeavour and a total waste of time! Despite their putting me down, my grandma had always stood up for me, and said that it was, in fact, a great career to pursue. You see, my grandma is the best grandma anyone could ever have. She is always bright, lively and optimistic. She lives with us, which makes it even more convenient to talk to her or ask her for help. I always called her, “MeeMaw”, because she is a funny little old lady. She and I are as close to each other as a mother lion and her cub. Grandma usually wore a blue and yellow shirt, and fun blue overalls that went on top. She had two sets, one for nighttime and one for the morning. Her favourite song was “Roar” too, so she helped me practise every single day. She was very patient, unlike my parents. Whenever I felt discouraged by my parents, Meemaw was always there for me and she always said, “Sophie, listen here, I am always here for you, whether in heaven or here. But always come to me in times of sadness, okay?" She added, "...and Sophie, remember that your parents are not in charge of your life, and neither am I. Ultimately, remember that you are the one to make the decisions for your life, okay?” I wept emotional tears whenever she said the phrase, “whether in heaven or here”, because it sounded very wise and full of unconditional and timeless love. “Again! Sophie, come out now! How many times have we told you to stop singing?It is very irritating! All your cousins are doctors or surgeons, so why can't you be one? Huh?” yelled my father whenever I sang in the shower. "You should feel lucky that you are even given a chance to study!” A few months passed, and the day finally came. I was going to sing first. On the way there, Meemaw gave me some extra vocal warm ups. Not long after we got there, the emcee announced, “Our first contestant is…Sophie Qian!” The audience clapped enthusiastically. I timidly stepped onto the stage. My heart was pumping so fast and I heard the pumps loud and clear. I took some deep breaths, and then gave the signal to the stagehands to start the music. Once the music began, I sang my heart out! “I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath…” then when I was about to end I sang my final line...“You’re gonna hear me ROAR!” The audience clapped exuberantly! I beamed from ear to ear and felt as if I was on cloud nine, but…there were still other contestants. I listened to all of them, and I felt that I was still the best, at least that was what Meemaw said. “Okay! Great performance from everybody! But there must be a winner, right? Drumroll please…and the winner is… Sophie Qian!” I smiled, and even cried tears of joy. Meemaw hugged me, and I bear hugged her back. She whispered in my ear, “I knew you could do it Sophie!” I smiled and whispered back, “Thank you, Meemaw!” After we pieced ourselves together, we ran to my parents, and my parents said, “Congratulations, Sophie! We are going to let you pursue your dream of being a singer...and...we are actually sorry for saying that you could not sing. We are sorry.” Meemaw and I smiled back at them, then to each other. “Since Sophie won, what about a treat at Marché?” asked my parents. "Yes! Thank you Dad! Thank you, Mom! And Meemaw too!” “Knock! Knock!”, a knocking sound shook me back to the present. I was back. At my desk, as a full grown adult at twenty-one, as a famous singer. “Come in!" I said. Meemaw came in. Now, many years has passed and Meemaw is about 73 years old. “I am so proud of you Sophie”, she said as always. She never, ever forgot about the competition. I hugged her and whispered, “You will forever be my Meemaw, and I love you the most!”
Comentários