“De la Sierra Morena, cielito lindo, vienen bajando, Un par de ojitos negros” is the opening stanza to Cielito Lindo, one of Mexico’s most popular mariachi songs. This is the line I began to sing when I was asked to MC Noche Latina during the fall of my sophomore year at the University of Georgia. Let me share a little bit more about this event.

Noche Latina has been hosted by the Hispanic Student Association for the past 15 years.  With over 400 guests, it is one of the largest student-run cultural celebrations in Georgia. Think delicious food from across Latin America and a medley of professional performances.

Now back to me.

Needless to say, the pressure was on. Did I mention the MCs weren’t required to sing? But as we prepared for the event, singing mariachi seemed to fit so well into the program. As the Mexican of the duo, I had to take on the mariachi part; it was almost my birthright. One small problem…I am not blessed with the “gift of song”. Actually, saying I am not a good singer would be an extreme understatement. I am not being cute and trying to be modest; I am a terrible singer. So naturally, I agreed to take this on. Why I decided to say yes is beyond me, but I did, and I am actually glad that I did.

This was the first time I experienced the feeling of sheer terror.  I spent five months preparing for the event. Most nights, I would wake up in the middle of the night and question my decision. Why did I say yes? I am not singer. I have never spoken in front of more than 20 people, let all alone sang. Could I pull this off? What would a good excuse to get out of my commitment?

The night of the event I went on stage, put on a sombrero and started to sing my heart out. Thankfully, Cielito Lindo is very well-known song so the audience quickly joined in. It was amazing.

I have yet to face a task that duplicates that feeling of sheer terror I had before walking on to the stage but when I do, I know that I will be OK. I’m not scared of the outcome of my performance. If everything turns out great, then I’m all set. If everything turns out terribly, then I will have a great story. Don’t get me wrong, I still feel scared, doubtful, and nauseous when I take on something new, but sheer terror is now a welcomed sign of uncharted territory ready to be conquered.

When I need a little boost of confidence, I recall the night I “sang” in front of 400 people while wearing a giant sombrero and survived.  So there isn’t much I can’t do. Big database… I will query that. Semi complex code…I will debug that. Executive presentation…I got that. Cute boy…I will say hi. New city… I will make friends.

And I won’t even need a sombrero.

I would love to hear similar stories. What experiences do you pull from when you need a little confidence?