Susan Boyle – I am who I was born to be

This woman needs no introduction. She is an internet sensation.

I saw Susan Boyle on the Oprah show the other day and was absolutely touched by her simplicity, her immense talent and perseverance. I am sure there are millions out there like me sharing similar views about Susan. I had of course seen her audition video for the ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ (BGT) on the You Tube before. I was completely astounded at her singing skills even then. But after seeing her on Ophrah, I really started admiring the woman.

So I got hooked and started digging more about her. This is what i found out. Susan Boyle is the youngest among her 9 siblings. As a child she had learning problems. She had no friends. Kids used to bully her and had nicknamed her as “Susie simple”. In her own words, she found her only solace in music. She never married. She remained with her aging mother to care for her until her mother passed away in 2007. Even today she lives in her family house with her cat named ’Pebbles’.

Susan Boyle always aspired to become a professional singer. Despite winning several local singing competitions, she never really made it big until her audition at the ‘BGT’ when she was 47. Before BGT happened, Susan had auditioned for ‘My Kind of People’ in 1995 and was mocked at by the judge Michael Barrymore. She refused to audition for ‘The X Factor’ because she believed that selections were being done on the basis of looks. Even when she came on stage at the BGT, for her audition - everyone in the audience including the judges were skeptic about her. She was greeted by sniggers when she announced that she wanted to be as successful as Elaine Paige. But after her performance, the very same crowd gave her a standing ovation.

She came 2nd in the BGT competition. So great is her singing talent that Elaine Paige herself praised Susan’s singing prowess and proposed to share the stage with her for a duet. Susan’s album” I dreamed a dream” was a global best seller. Susan Boyle is so successful today that there are blog sites entirely devoted to her – they put up updates about her on their sites. There are some sites/web sites that solely sell Susan Boyle merchandise.

Seeing her success today, I realize that never judge a book by its cover. To Susan - You dared to dream. With your beautiful talent and a never give up attitude , you turned your dream into a fairytale like reality. You have finally become who you were born to be!!

When I was a child
I could see the wind in the trees
And I heard a song in the breeze
It was there, singing out my name

But I'm not a girl
I have known the taste of defeat
And I've finally grown to believe
It will all come around again

And though I may not
Know the answers
I can finally say I'm free
And if the questions
Led me here, then
I am who I was born to be

And so, here am I
Open arms and ready to stand
I've got the world in my hands
And it feels like my turn to fly

And though I may not
Know the answers
I can finally say I'm free
And if the questions
Lead me here, then
I am who I was born to be

When I was a child
There were flowers that bloomed in the night
Unafraid to take in the light
Unashamed to have braved the dark

And though I may not
Know the answers
I can finally say I'm free
If the questions
Led me here, then
I am who I was born to be
I am who I was born to be