Family (The App) by Smule By Diego Montana
Family (The App) by Smule By Diego Montana
“It’s just an app, relax.”
How many times have you heard this from outside voices that could never imagine the immense feeling of joy we experience seeing our newly found family for the first time in the flesh. It’s no longer just a voice, or a face, this is a human. You muster up enough courage to get a word, a scream, or sometimes just tears out, and that’s all that’s needed to know the feeling you’re feeling is mutual. This is someone you’ve interacted with and shared candid moments with through music. Had extensive conversations with outside of the app, be it Facebook, the Line App, or text messages. They understand hiding in vehicles, basements, and closets for a few moments to express themselves in a private setting, because no one around understands them. They understand how that five minutes of singing breaks up the monotony of their normal life. They understand.
Does anyone remember their first days on Sing!? What brought you there? How did you feel about it? Why did you stay? As much as we try to deny it, there’s a reason we decided to sing into our phones, and continued to do it. At this point it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that we have these people that have borrowed our time, our lives, and we’re completely okay with it. They’re apart of us, and sometimes we even prefer them over the people that fill time slots in our existence on a daily basis. Not to say we lead terrible lives, and Sing! is the only thing we have, but more so, it’s a change we feel we need. We pass by hundreds of people everyday with no interaction, because meeting new people in this day and age is just uncommon. Potential friends, potential husbands, wives, family. Sing! grants us access to a world of people we would otherwise pass on the street, or worse never have the pleasure of meeting.
Over the last 3-4 years Sing! has not only been the result of some pretty kick ass music, but friendships, relationships, marriages, and the occasional child. Yes, Smule babies are alive and well in the world. Whether you lived down the road, and had no idea until you were making a birthday song for a mutual friend, like my friend David and me. Or, you traveled across the country to meet a group of friends like the amazing voices in the Smule group Sing Republic. It’s valid. All the time, money, and stress involved in planning all seems worth it. It’s worth it to you, and the people you’re sharing these times with. These are your moments, these are your times, these are your memories. You’ll have them forever.
These will be some of the best times you’ll have in your life, but leaving is the hardest part. On that final day, you’ll sit alone and try to pull it together while preparing for the good bye. You’ll never be prepared, it’ll never hurt any less, you can convince yourself of this, but it just wont. These hours, days, or weeks that you’ve spent w/ people that seem to get you with no explanation needed aren’t a part of your day to day shenanigans, and reality has set in. You’ll cry, you’ll laugh, you’ll sing, and cry again. You’ll feel your heart sink into your stomach as you part back into the sea of humans just trying to live. Just keep in mind that these are your friends, this is your family. For some a family they don’t have normally.
In conclusion, you’re not obligated to explain your friendships, your family, your significant other, just because you didn’t meet them traditionally. Keep in mind, you don’t have to have met someone in the flesh to consider them a friend to you. Music connects people, and connections happen when you least expect it. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re crazy for traveling miles to see someone, if you feel like that is the right thing to do, do it. You’ll be a much better person having let strangers become friends, and letting them see you in such candid moments that many don’t get to see. For many Sing! is the only outlet to do something you love. Why not make it your own personal experience. You owe it to yourself, to make yourself happy.
Diego Montana (xYego)
