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I recently wrote a comment on The Voice about who I was before February 2008. After some of the girls read it, they said it could have been an article. I said to myself, “Why not?” But perhaps who I was before David is not important: what’s important is who I am now, thanks to him.
David disrupted the daily life that I had established for myself. I almost never listened to music. It didn’t interest me much, particularly music in Spanish. I remember my dad listening to an album of Louis Armstrong and I loved it. I didn’t understand the words but I loved his voice. Then my dad passed on and I became the head of the family and since then, my life was work, work, work. So much that I had to leave my college studies.
As a little girl I asked my mom and dad, “What else is out there?” When I became an adult I asked myself the same question. This can’t be all there is in life; there has to be something more. After a while, I stopped asking and just accepted my life. I locked myself in my own world, took care of my responsibilities and nothing more.
Then one day in February 2008, someone entered my life without permission or fair warning. He just came in and stayed with me. Like all Latinos who don’t speak English, I didn’t understand what he said, but there was something in his look. I’m not sure how to describe how confidence looks. I only know that when David sings, I believe him.
I felt like a teenager again. I started to dress differently, even communicate differently. I thought I should get to know people before deciding whether or not I liked them. I didn’t want to dislike someone without even knowing them, like I did before. I’d ask myself “Why do I dislike this person if I don’t know them?” (David said this in an interview.) I started to listen to music again. I began to discover that not all moments of happiness need to be huge moments. And they don’t even have to be mine; the happiness of others can make me happy too. I learned to use social networking to communicate with friends around the world.
I remember being at a meeting the night David was going to sing a Spanish song at the ALMA Awards. The time was set for 7pm I think, but there was something wrong with the station schedule and I spent the whole day worrying that I might miss it. I asked at work if I could leave a little earlier. My instincts were right. When I got home I turned my computer on an hour earlier, at 6pm, as they were announcing David. In that performance of “Contigo En La Distancia,” we witnessed the glory and passion that is a David Archuleta performance.
I wish I could share all my stories of how David changed my life. I was traveling in a taxi to see a client and got a text message from Julieta, whom some of you may know from The Voice Unplugged. She said “They announced David is singing with Jordin in a few minutes!!!!! Hurry uuppppp!” Out of character for me, and just like in a movie, I told the taxi driver, “I’ll pay double if we leave here now and you get me to my house in 10 minutes!” hahaha. My God, what memories! I made it home just in time!
After accepting David as part of my life, I had to also accept that I didn’t understand why he was there. But I don’t let it frustrate me; I take it as a challenge. I started using Google Translator to understand everything I read about David and for a time it was enough. But not being able to understand the interviews was killing me. I wanted to understand what he was saying and I wanted to know why everyone looked at him with adoration every time he opened his mouth. I started my English studies again. And now I think the circle is closing.
What lies ahead? Beyond being a David fan, beyond the desire to discover new friends and a new world, a life full of possibilities that are now a reality? David plants seeds in fertile soil, under the sun, in the rain, during cold weather and snow, sick with fever, tired, at times almost voiceless, but always with a smile, always prepared. I believe that three years of planting has been enough. Now David, it’s time to harvest. But we all know that David will never stop planting seeds, with every song, every appearance, and every contact with his fans.
Looking back, I believed that I was living a nice comfortable life but now I realize that I existed in a shell while life continued around me. It’s said that things happen for a reason. I know that I’m a lucky person to have David in my life. David opened my eyes and showed me that I had many roads to choose from, that nothing is impossible. Now I stand straight, swallow hard, and take my first steps down the road I have chosen to follow. Who knows, this may be that first step that leads me to see David in concert. Anything and everything is possible.
Gladys is a guest writer and long-time commenter on The Voice. She lives in Argentina.
The Voice David Archuleta 