'Bailey, can you tell me about choir,' my loving sister, Shelby, curiously asked me.

I replied with a deeply unforgettable eighth grade, 'Sure, let me think. Ah Ha! I have one you might like. Well''

In the eighth grade, I was in the varsity choir and had a powerful voice. I had a love for singing in a choir. We went to an UIL competition with the most anxious choir director you have ever seen. She was so nervous that if you made a wrong move you would probably be knocked out for an hour, but when we arrived was when the pressure claimed us. When we walked through the entrance and up the stairs, you could hear our teeth chattering. A middle- aged lady came up to tell us that it was our turn to perform for the judges.

'Clayton Downing Middle School is up Next,' she screamed to get our attention.

We followed her into an auditorium, and she placed us on the risers. Ms. Black, our agitated director, showed the start of the song to the accompanist, and we were off; singing our hearts' content.

I could touch the ceiling with my voice, and I could feel the blood racing through me. For when I shot a glance away from Ms. Black I looked back at my director. She had the biggest smile because she knew what I saw.

'That's all I'm going to say, and I'm going to leave it to you to decide on what happens next,' I said with my dimpled grin.

'But, Bailey, I'm in choir, and I need something to guide me through my competition,' Shelby whined.

'You know what? I can still feel the bitterness the other choirs gave us,' I remembered.

'I will tell you that being in choir in my eighth grade year really made a difference in my life. It really opened me up to the point that I don't care what people say. If they say something mean about me, I can say listen to my voice and rethink what you just said,' I truthfully told my sister.

'Now it shows how important singing in the choir was one of my outlets, and why I love it so much,' I stated from the bottom of my heart.