Tell your story.
Shout it. Write it.
Whisper it if you have to.
But tell it.
Some won't understand it.
Some will outright reject it.
But many will
thank you for it.
And then the most
magical thing will happen.
One by one, voices will start
whispering, 'Me, too.'
And your tribe will gather.
And you will never
feel alone again.

When you are an artist you are telling your story and other people stories…As a South African, when I had the platform to sing, I took it as a platform to tell my story, to inspire those who were fighting for equal right and freedom.

When you can tell the story of the song through your movement, it's brilliant. It comes across as so honest and not fake.

Tell the story with your ears. Listen.

You sing the song in your heart and the people it resonates with are going to dance to it.

I have brought you to the ring, now dance if you can.

You can use your story, or your story can use you.

Everybody has their story to tell.

Life calls the tune, we dance.

You have to be someone large on stage, not who you are in your everyday life. When I was performing, I believed that every song told a story, which I expressed through singing and movement. My audience wanted theater, and that's what we gave them. You start out not knowing who they are, or how active they will be, but you want to impress them. If they were quiet and they didn't move, then we had to work together, me, the girls, and the band, to pull them in and show them how to have a good time.

To survive, you must tell stories.

Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift. Your sister may be able to see the future, but you yourself can shape it, boy. Do not forget that... there are many kinds of magic, after all.

Talk about the things you love. Your voice will follow.

Sing, if you can sing, and if not still be
musical inside yourself.