May All Your Christmas Dreams Come True

by Sariah S. Wilson

I have been something of a Grinch lately with my complaining about tipping and such. But seeing as how this might be the last post before the annual Six LDS Writers break begins (we'll be taking a vacation all next week to enjoy the holidays with our families), I thought I'd try to go out on a positive note.

I realize that when it comes to YouTube clips and things like that, I am shamefully behind the times. I might go out to YouTube to find a clip from a movie or a show I liked or because a viral video has become so popular that I hear about it from a friend. But this one I came across while reading Pub Rants (the blog of Ms. Kristin Nelson, one of my possible dream agents). I was so moved by it that I began sharing this clip with everyone I knew, which now includes all of you. Of course, you might have already seen this clip as it has been viewed 15 million times or so.

First, watch the clip. This is the British version of "America's Got Talent" (the British show came first - our version features David Hasselhoff and Sharon Osbourne and that end guy who is also on the British version - I think his name is Piers or something) and you will appreciate it much more if you know just how mean Simon Cowell and that Piers guy can be.



When I watched that the first time, I thought Mr. Paul Potts was lip synching. I couldn't believe that voice came out of that man. It made me tear up - and still manages to each time I watch it.

Especially after I sought out information about him on the Internet. According to his bio, this is a man who was abused at home and bullied non-stop at school. So much so that he joined choir so he wouldn't have to go outside during lunch or recess but could stay in the choir room. He gained a love of music, which became his escape.

He lived an average life, with a deep love of opera. He competed on a reality type show and won a nice sum of money, which he used to go to Italy and study opera. But studying opera and being able to perform it are two very different things. All he wanted to do was sing. But with no way to make ends meet, he had to come back to England and his life.

He married, and not long after he and his wife were in a horrible accident. The medical bills were overwhelming to the point that they began to buy food and pay bills from their credit cards. They were on the verge of filing bankruptcy.

Then along came this show. And that performance. And the next performance, and the next. Apparently Paul Potts became something of a national sensation and, not surprisingly, won the entire competition (and the large money prize). Simon Cowell told him that they would soon be in the studio to record an album (which I believe he received a million dollar advance for, and still Simon had to order Paul to quit his job selling cell phones so that they could make the album! LOL)

Now he travels the world performing opera. He even got to sing for the Queen of England.

I'm sure all his life he heard about how he wasn't good enough, not attractive enough, not talented enough, how he would never make it as an opera singer.

And despite all of that, Paul Potts never gave up. Even if part of him believed what everyone told him, he persevered. He fought to the end. And all of his dreams came true.

This time last year I put up a post about my own Christmas miracle, being pregnant with my darling now 7-month-old daughter. Something people told me to forget about. To stop trying. That obviously the Lord didn't want me to have more children or it wouldn't be so hard to have another. To just appreciate what I had and to stop striving for something more.

I didn't listen. Neither did Paul Potts.

Merry Christmas to all our readers. I hope this season you'll think about your dreams and make a goal for 2008 to spend even a few minutes every day doing something to achieve it.

You can do it. Never give up.