If the heckling she experienced in this seven-minute clip is any gauge, Susan's been dealing with naysayers all her life. At 47, that's a lot of naysaying.
Yet, there she was — and is — out on stage.
Daring to dream.
***
Janika Dillon was kind enough to share her thoughts with me in real-time. Here's her take:
Susan Boyle is so ordinary-looking–and well past the age of most up-and-coming stars, yet she totally knocked their socks off! How many amazing talents are hidden behind average looks, age, and ‘small villages'. Though who knows what will ever happen with her singing, she had the courage to try out for the show, get on the stage, and do what she does best.
The audience was horrible to heckle her, but I guess that's the reality when striving for a dream for which we don't look the part. We may be ‘too old', ‘too busy with young children', ‘too inexperienced', ‘too poor'. Some of these things we can change, many we cannot. The quest is to accept our plight, determine if it is still worth trying for the dream, and then navigate our way through the obstacles.
I know a woman in her early 50s out West who is getting a doctorate in clinical psychology. She is amazingly talented and would make an incredible psychologist. Unfortunately she has received little support from the faculty, while enduring many unkind comments about her age. Nor did she get an offer for an internship even though she applied and interviewed throughout the country.
In casting about for a way to help decision makers look past her age and see her abilities, she finally decides to rely on her extensive social network. After a month of calls, visits and e-mails, my friend landed one of the country's most prestigious internships. She is thrilled to have her chance on the stage, and I think she will be prove just as effective (if not more so) as her younger colleagues.
Thank you Janika for guest-posting on the fly; I look forward to many more posts.
What did you think?
Why did Susan Boyle move you?
Click here to read what Boston Globe reporter Michael Paulson had to say.
My sister introduced me to the video clip of Susan just this past Friday. There have been a few Susans on that show judging from the youtube clips we subsequently watched. And now she is turning up on your Dare to Dream webpage. Janika’s recounting of her friend seeking an internship was also very timely. Thanks.
Great post, Whitney…
I have watched Susan’s performance several times and have cried every time. We need stories like this right now…
Thanks again!
Dare to dream is exactly what Susan Boyle has done. It seems to be a popular theme on Britain’s Got Talent. Check out some of the old clips on YouTube. There was an opera singer two years ago (I think) who did the same sort of thing Boyle did.
This is the kind of thing American Idol should be. Does America get the Idol it wants? Or deserves? Does Simon know that appearance is the be all and end all in America? He’d be an interesting man to talk to.
Loved Janika’s thoughts. Thanks for posting them.
Matt’s comment got me thinking – I think American Idol is a different animal. The word “Idol” is a bit loaded. We don’t expect our idols to always be vocally talented, but we do always expect an image. Sometimes we end up with the whole package (Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson), but sometimes we don’t. (I’d mention names, but I don’t want your blog to get flamed by rabid fans that have Google Alerts set up.)
Unfortunately, because of shows like American Idol, we think that appearance and talent are inextricably linked. I think that’s why someone like Susan is surprising to us at first. It’s a horrible commentary on our society at large, but I think the discussion may make us aware of our reaction to appearance and I hope it makes us think twice the next time we run into a similar situation. When someone like Susan shows up on a show like Britain’s Got Talent (or America’s Got Talent), though judged at first by her appearance, when she starts to sing, you see that she belongs on the show.
And if you liked “I Dreamed a Dream,” check out this recording she did for a charity several years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI2DxkrgpgQ
I have never seen America’s Got Talent, so I can’t be sure, but what are the competitors like on that show? All image? Or are there some normal people that get through?
Have a look at Paul Potts. He’s a Welsh mobile phone singer. At least, he was… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA
Our whole family is cheering. We’re glad she gets to live her dream, and hope it ends up being all that she’s dreamed about.
I was so moved by her performance and the shock of such a beautiful voice. I thought that maybe they had previewed her and she was one of those that they purposely send out. Nope. And the day that I heard her angelic voice was a day that I was so beat down myself that I couldn’t control the emotions watching and more importantly listening to her. It was heaven sent. . . for me, anyway