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If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or (real life not magical) ability, what would it be?

missy

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Jun 8, 2008
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I wish my view on life was more optimistic. I personally think this is mainly genetically determined...being an optimist or pessimist and I have worked hard to be an optimistic pessimist lol

How about you?


calvin-and-hobbes-look-down-the-road.webp
 
I would want the ability to compose wonderful poetry! Like Edgar Allan Poe levels of wonderful!

Or be a brilliant soprano like Sierra Boggess!

Love this!
 
Patience - lots of it. I am not a patient person, and admire those who are. Although having a toddler has definitely taught me to be more patient.
 
I have another answer that is more tangible and something I have wished I could do for a long time
Sing. I wish I could carry a tune
I wish I had a beautiful singing voice
Oh I really wish this were possible
When we were little my parents gave us almost very possible lesson
Dancing, ballet, tap, gymnastics, swimming, ice skating, piano, organ, clarinet, guitar and so on and so forth
But never singing lessons
However I have zero singing abilities
I am tone deaf
So maybe they realized that
But this would be a dream come true if I could sing
I am not asking to sing like Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald
Though that would be incredible
Rather, I am just asking to be able to carry a tune so I could sing in a pleasant voice not offending others
That will never be because I cannot carry a tune
I do sing anyway but never if others (with the exception of my DH) are around
I do not want to cause pain to anyone lol
 
Patience - lots of it. I am not a patient person, and admire those who are. Although having a toddler has definitely taught me to be more patient.

This is the answer my DH shared with me :)

I too am not patient so maybe I should wish for that as well
Patience is hard
And the more one has going on in life the harder it is IMO
 
Eat and drink whatever I like whenever I like without consequences?

DK :lol-2:
 
Math. If I had been capable at maths my life would have been entirely different.
 
I would love to be able to ice skate well-- at least fairly well, nothing fancy. Well enough that I was not at high risk of falling and possibly breaking a hip. The last time I ice skated was when our daughter was around 10.

I did skate as a kid but was always leery of the people zipping by me at high speed. I wished I had the rink all to myself! And I had poor control of my ankles no matter how well I laced up. Probably should have had lessons, and better skates.
 
That my brain and body worked more "normally". Stupid anxiety and ocd, plus my body getting incredibly sick for all 9 months of pregnancy (thanks, HG), AND refusing to produce breastmilk.
 
I would want the ability to compose wonderful poetry! Like Edgar Allan Poe levels of wonderful!

Or be a brilliant soprano like Sierra Boggess!

But you are able to recognize and appreciate it, that’s a gift too. <3
 
HI:

Be crafty. Knit, crochet, sew. My Mom was brilliant and did everything and I am completely inert. Plus it is a great way to pass the time.

cheers--Sharon
 
I have another answer that is more tangible and something I have wished I could do for a long time
Sing. I wish I could carry a tune
I wish I had a beautiful singing voice
Oh I really wish this were possible
When we were little my parents gave us almost very possible lesson
Dancing, ballet, tap, gymnastics, swimming, ice skating, piano, organ, clarinet, guitar and so on and so forth
But never singing lessons
However I have zero singing abilities
I am tone deaf
So maybe they realized that
But this would be a dream come true if I could sing
I am not asking to sing like Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald
Though that would be incredible
Rather, I am just asking to be able to carry a tune so I could sing in a pleasant voice not offending others
That will never be because I cannot carry a tune
I do sing anyway but never if others (with the exception of my DH) are around
I do not want to cause pain to anyone lol

omg ME TOO!!! I’ve always envied people that can sing!!! I have asked God (creator/source) begged even to have the ability to sing to no avail.
 
Higher IQ
 
I’m with you @missy I would have loved to have a beautiful singing voice.
When younger I thought I could sing, however as my musical journey progressed I became more and more aware how really awful my singing really was.
I’ve always been in awe of those who possess this special gift but I take heart in knowing that the reason why many other people became extremely proficient on musical instruments is because they too can’t sing. Their voice box can’t be their instrument so they choose another.
Yay, winners all round.
 
I would love to be able to ice skate well-- at least fairly well, nothing fancy. Well enough that I was not at high risk of falling and possibly breaking a hip. The last time I ice skated was when our daughter was around 10.

I did skate as a kid but was always leery of the people zipping by me at high speed. I wished I had the rink all to myself! And I had poor control of my ankles no matter how well I laced up. Probably should have had lessons, and better skates.

Ah, the first time I ice skated I was 10, unfortunately just as you feared it happened to me. I was hit from behind by a fallen speed skater and catapulted into the air breaking my first bone, my kneecap.
My daughter did ice skating and really loved it right up until her first performance.
She had this gorgeous dress that I spent way too much money one (OMG so sparkly and bright) and she refused to go onto the ice. So that was that. Her skating friends were progressing and her teacher was pressuring her to “show her talent” which led to her saying no means no.
And I respected that.
 
Everybody wishing you could sing or write poetry or do math or learn a language, or whatever it is--you can learn! Start now, get a teacher if you need one, practice every day (or every other day, or whatever works for you). Be curious, be patient with yourself, and learn from your mistakes. I promise, you'll get better and better. And you'll have a blast. Human beings have amazing brains that allow us to learn. If you think you can't do something, it's very, very likely that you just have a block about it and are defining yourself as Someone Tone Deaf or Someone Who Can't Do Math, but you're wrong, and you CAN if you let really yourself try.
 
Everybody wishing you could sing or write poetry or do math or learn a language, or whatever it is--you can learn! Start now, get a teacher if you need one, practice every day (or every other day, or whatever works for you). Be curious, be patient with yourself, and learn from your mistakes. I promise, you'll get better and better. And you'll have a blast. Human beings have amazing brains that allow us to learn. If you think you can't do something, it's very, very likely that you just have a block about it and are defining yourself as Someone Tone Deaf or Someone Who Can't Do Math, but you're wrong, and you CAN if you let really yourself try.

I agree with this for math and language but not 100% onboard with this for singing. I think some of us do not have the ability to carry a tune. I think while the mind is willing the ability is just not there. I think one needs a certain innate ability/skill/talent to be able to sing and sing well. If you have that and nurture that you will be successful. But without that innate ability I don't see it happening

But for the other wishes all you need is someone who is skillful at teaching and the motivation to work at it and yes you can be successful. Math is a great skill to have and I use it almost every day. It's a shame when we were growing up the emphasis on teaching women math was less so than it was for teaching men. But things have changed and it is proven women can be as good at math (maybe better) than men
 
I agree with this for math and language but not 100% onboard with this for singing. I think some of us do not have the ability to carry a tune. I think while the mind is willing the ability is just not there. I think one needs a certain innate ability/skill/talent to be able to sing and sing well. If you have that and nurture that you will be successful. But without that innate ability I don't see it happening

Definitely agree with this. I can't sing. I've tried and tried. When I did, I "improved" but still couldn't really sing. I have this theory that people who can sing are better at "speaking" foreign languages that people who can't sing. Maybe that's just in my mind, but I have studied several languages and can read them but my pronunciation is never good. To me, it's in the ear. Like singing.
 
I wish I could put the things that really bother me out of my mind. I can't seem to do it. I wake up at night and those things even come to me then. I know some people can compartmentalize but I find that if it is something serious to me, I can't. And it gets me down. These are always things that I am not in a position to change.
 
I wish I could put the things that really bother me out of my mind. I can't seem to do it. I wake up at night and those things even come to me then. I know some people can compartmentalize but I find that if it is something serious to me, I can't. And it gets me down. These are always things that I am not in a position to change.

I used to be so much better at compartmentalizing and now am finding it more challenging so I get how you feel. It is hard to function without compartmentalizing when we have so much happening. It's overwhelming. Sometimes I do better at it than other times. But for example, when a loved one dies, I find it super challenging to put it out of my mind to accomplish other things. I find myself obsessively thinking about it all. Not good. All this to say I feel what you are saying profoundly. We cannot change it but we cannot help but dwell on it either.

Definitely agree with this. I can't sing. I've tried and tried. When I did, I "improved" but still couldn't really sing. I have this theory that people who can sing are better at "speaking" foreign languages that people who can't sing. Maybe that's just in my mind, but I have studied several languages and can read them but my pronunciation is never good. To me, it's in the ear. Like singing.

I agree with this too. I learned two languages (besides English if you can call me english literate which I'm not sure applies lol) but was always struggling with the accent (Brooklyn accent here haha) so I would speak spanish with a Brooklyn accent and anyway never found languages super easy. I took advanced spanish literature in college where we read authors like Gabriel Garcia Marquez all in spanish. I found the course challenging though I enjoyed it. But I digress. I don't think we can overcome every challenge in life without innate talent in some (many?) cases. In my case I will never ever be able to carry a tune. But I had fun trying (still do lol) And one of my philosophies in life is this “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” :)
 
Warning, another long Kenny post.

Everyone can sing.
Everyone!
Does everyone sound equally good?
No.

But ... Your perception of your singing is often a big reason many say they can't sing.

Enter education.
As a teen music major I took a couple semesters of voice at a city college.
There are many technical things to learn that will improve anyone's voice.
I teach guitar, not voice, but if I taught voice the first thing I'd teach is the Eustachian tubes.

There are actually TWO pathways for sound of your voice to travel to each ear.
1. The room, leading to the outer entrance of each ear canal
2. The Eustachian tubes

ET.png

Everyone does their best to they sing as well as they can.
But without some training we all fall into a universal, yet understandable, trap.
The voice sounds very different to listeners than it does to the singer.
Why?
Here's a clue ... if you've ever heard a recording of your voice, even just talking, you probably immediately were surprised because it didn't sound like you, regardless of the quality of mics and speakers used.
You might have even asked someone there whether you really sound like that.
Of course it is you; But it's just how others hear you.

How can this be?
Sound gets changed by the path that the sound took.

When you talk or sing much of the sound you hear traveled from the back of your throat, through your Eustachian tubes, to your inner ear.
The tube is also the airway for equalizing the pressure change as your jet changes altitude.
Yawning widens the opening of the tubes in the back of your throat so air can travel from the cabin to your inner ear.

Imagine a microphone placed a couple feet in front of your face, and another tiny mic somehow placed in the back of your throat where the opening of the Eustachian tube.
Each would record the same thing, but the sound quality of your voice would be very different.

So one of the many things you'll learn from lessons is how to focus your voice so it should good to listeners, and microphones instead of the back of your throat.

Focusing one's voice is just one of many things to learn.
BTW, there are very successful singers who do not have nice voices, like Neil Young and Bob Dylan.
Being able to entertain well, doesn't necessarily require a fine voice.
But you do need to be able to carry a tune convincingly.
 
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