As a teenager, it is hard to fathom that opportunities of a lifetime will come your way. However, I was one of the fortunate that had just such a knock at the door. The year was 1998. I was a junior in high school with very little classical voice training. My choir teacher changed my life when she read a performance invitation opportunity to our class. It was an experience that I will never forget. Even as a teenager, it made a great impression on the rest of my life. My experience was a performance to remember, at the very least. It has served as a great conversation piece as well as inspiration when I felt down about what I had not accomplished in life. It is kind of a joke to myself, if that makes sense. Whenever I am feeling inadequate about something, I say to myself, "That may not have worked out, but you have sang on stage at Carnegie Hall." Or if someone else was putting me down, I say in my head, "Yes, but have you sang on stage at Carnegie Hall?" I have these thoughts with a little smirk on my face, and I am able to see the humor in life again. It helps restore my balance in life. I realize that there is much more in life to be proud of accomplishing, but this is just something unique. It was really not because I was super talented in choir, but rather just a chance opportunity with which fate decided to show me favor.