Jamming Session in the Board Room

Recently, our company decided to resurrect the social committee and I got invited to join separately by HR and my boss.

Now this isn’t the first time I’ve been involved with anything social-related. Apparently I am such a social butterfly that I usually get volunteered for these things in most companies I’ve worked for.

Take note – I was usually volunteered. I am usually not the type of person who volunteers to do things because – and this may be hard to believe for people who know me – I’m actually shy about these things. It’s totally a confidence issue or impostor syndrome.

Impostor syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud”.

The really irritating thing about having this is that no matter how many times different people praise me about something, I struggle so hard to believe them and always brush it off.

And that is why it took me forever to get promoted. And part of the reason why I was single for so long.

Wow I didn’t expect to take this turn, I was just supposed to talk about today lol.

So today, I had a jamming session with my colleague who knows how to play a mean guitar. He and I are both on the social committee and we are planning an event for the end of this month. When he said he could play guitar for the program, I initially didn’t say anything but when he couldn’t find anyone else to perform with, I thought, what the hey, it’s time to push that irritating syndrome to the curb. So I volunteered to sing with him.

In Singapore, a lot of colleagues said I was a good singer but I always laughed it off, saying that people had low standards in Singapore compared to the Philippines.

But you know what, maybe that’s not true. I mean, a Filipino guitarist asked me to be the lead singer of the department band. A Filipino choir member said I was a powerful alto. A Filipino friend asked me to sing at her wedding.

Maybe I am actually a good singer and it’s time I stop being shy about that.

And you know what, we really enjoyed our jamming session in the board room and we even settled on what song to sing – Shallow. Yes, that Lady Gaga song. I was surprised I could pull it off because it sounded difficult.

But maybe I shouldn’t have.

Wish me luck.