Susan Boyle

            "And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government, which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about."(John Steinbeck) This phrase from John Steinbeck's book "East of Eden" describes Susan Boyle's determination to pursue her passions no matter what other people believed. "Despite such naysayers, Boyle had performing ambitions from an early age. Her family recognized she had a talent for singing, and she performed in choirs and school musicals." at the age of 12 (Gale Biography In Context). On April 11, 2009, a day her fans will never forget, Boyle took the stage for the popular talent show Brittan's Got Talent. Her overnight fame was shocking and currently Boyle has successfully released four platinum albums. On September 4, 2009 Boyle earned the record for best-selling per-ordered album on Amazon and later the fastest selling UK debut album of all time. Although many people believed that Susan Boyle wouldn't be successful in her career because of her looks, attitude, and personality, she created a life for herself that was unexpected in everyone's eyes.  Her determination, humble personality, and endurance is what has lead her to her many great achievements through the years. Susan Boyle has always been a determined girl with a drive to succeed; but now Boyle has created a new era in music where reality and celebrity have intersected and created a being that carries memories of humiliation, perseverance through physical discrimination, and an immortal talent that composed a woman worthy of the title "The woman who silenced Simon Cowell."

            Boyle worked persistently in order to achieve her goals and dreams in life. Boyle's diligence and determination has not only made her an inspiration but also an amazing role model. Boyle always struggled with putting herself out there but when ". Encouraged by her mother, Boyle used all of her savings in 1999 to pay for a professionally cut demo tape, which she sent to record companies, radio talent competitions, local and national TV. She continued to dream of a day when the world would recognize her talent" (www.biography.com). Boyle knew exactly what she wanted, and made huge risks to obtain them. She craved recognition, and that's what she ultimately strived for. The odds of being heard by companies and radio stations weren't very much in her favor. Nonetheless, she knew that if she took the chance, she could be closer to her dream. Boyle has always been shy but her persistence overruled. She has always muscled her way past what is comfortable to set higher and higher goals to achieve: "When you go into the studio you see all these plaques on the walls of different artists and I said to myself, "You're going to make an album and, eventually, if you're good enough, you'll be there". I felt quite shy, but was determined to do my best" (Boyle, Susan (Australian Women Weekly)). Boyle's goal was always to make music that could alleviate the everyday struggles of life for children and adults. She thought highly of herself when others failed to, and that gave her the courage to follow her passion and her dreams. Boyle's support from her mother was a large part of her achievements but her commitment, hard work, and never-ending optimistic attitude is what inevitably lead her to success.  

            Boyle's humble demeanor and celebrity voice has brought a realistic individual to renowned talent, which allows the public to be inspired by her refreshing ability. Since the beginning of Boyle's immortal career she has been the cause for confusion on how, "this unlikely candidate for the melting pot of the new star machine in 21st century Britain caused computer crashes, miles of newsprint and the sophisticated approval of Hollywood's well-heeled and super-groomed A-list. Though the content differed wildly, everyone proffering their thoughts on the self-confessed 'wee wifey' seemed agreed on one point. That in 2009, to be free of an opinion on Susan Boyle was to be free of opinion itself"(Flynn, Paul). Her frumpy character has made the hot-lists and nobody could understand why. During the time of Boyles early fame people had interpreted her stardom in their own way and many times it resulted in the denial of her talent that she carried because of physical discrimination. Her below average looks and less than normal personality made Boyle a rule breaker in the music industry because of the widespread hope she gave to her audience. Boyle is comfortable with her past and never attempts to cover up what she experienced before fame: "Probably the fact that I'm an ordinary person who came from a poor background and, through fate and the help of a great team of people, I was able to rise up from that. I know it's a cliche, but it's a bit of a Cinderella story" (Boyle, Susan (Australian Women Weekly)).  She strived to rise above her past and not let it overcome her. Although growing up the statistics were never in here favor she chose to ignore them and keep fighting for her Cinderella story. She showed that being normal or even a little less than that never affected your chances on changing the world as long as you trusted yourself.  Being average doesn't lower your chances of succeeding Susan Boyle proved this perfectly; the beauty that made her so famous and respected is the plain normality she had that no other stars possess. 

            For most of her life Boyle left the comfort of her home in order to achieve greater goals and during those times she had to endure plenty of rejections and the pains of unwanted memories. Susan Boyle pushed herself out to the open where she knew she would be vulnerable to failure and humiliation for that small chance that maybe she would be recognized by a greater people. It was in 1995 when Boyle took her first leap of faith and boarded a train leaving for ".Glasgow to audition for My Kind of People, a televised talent show popular in the United Kingdom." Many people believe that Boyle was a victim of physical prejudice and, ".she was summarily rejected from the show, but Boyle remained undeterred" (www.biography.com). This was Boyle's first true failure in her fight to succeed but although she was rejected this made her drive stronger and she gained more fuel to power her determination. This showed Boyles true strength because she continued to push herself outside the boundaries of normality into success even if it was going to end in humiliation again. She was, in this case, a victim of physical discrimination because nobody wanted to believe that a woman of Boyle's class could carry the talent necessary to the music industry. School was never an outlet for Boyle because she could never really trust any of her "friends" for fear of them hurting her because when ".she was diagnosed with learning difficulties, and she became a target for bullies. She was often mocked, and her peers called her "Simple Susie." Yet Boyle persisted with music, and began performing in school productions at the age of 12" (www.biography.com). Boyle accepted the fact that people believed she was different. However, she didn't let her peers affect her negatively. She took those comments and taunts and made herself greater, stronger, and more successful. She let this imperfection build moral strength and it is now one of the qualities that makes her so inspiring to other people around the world.   Throughout these humiliations though Boyle finally found a way to shine by learning from her past giving truth to the meaning, "Success never arrives without failure."  

            Susan Boyle has always had an unstoppable drive and determination to succeed. People over the years have found hope originating from Boyle because she creates inspiration by fulfilling her dreams when the odds are not in her favor. From the first day people met her on that Brittan's Got Talent stage everybody believed that she would be a failure; it was in those moments that Boyle would remember her "mum" reciting how she, ". would sway slowly in time with the ballads, and jiggle faster to the rhythm of the quicker tunes," as a baby (Boyle, Susan). But just like Boyle's always done she proved them wrong by giving a performance that moved people so much it brought tears to their eyes. Through her inspirational music and story Susan Boyle has given people all over the world a new kind of hope they had never witnessed before. Boyle inspires people to chase their dreams, trust what they believe in, and never let anything stand in their way. Susan Boyle is inspiring to me, and many others, because her drive to succeed in her dreams and goals gives us a new found inspiration and hope. Paul Flynn, a prestigious writer on popular culture, states it perfectly explaining that, "Susan Boyle's story has inspired the collective public consciousness. If the two watchwords of the 21st century have been 'reality' and 'celebrity,' Susan Boyle had accidentally located a brand new point on the graph where they both intersected proving to the common public that reality truly can become celebrity." The phrase "she believe she could so she did" is unusually powerful in Boyle's case. She is truly a woman of strength and power, and it is this quality that so many people find themselves attracted to. A woman of Boyle's stature is always frowned upon and many people throughout Boyle's life considered her somewhat of a failure to society. It has always been about who's the sexiest, smartest, fastest, and strongest but never about who has the real underlying talent. "My advice to those who dare to dream is don't give up - if I can do it, anyone else can too."(Susan Boyle).   

Works Cited

             Boyle, Susan. "The Woman I Was Born to Be: My Story (Hardback) By (author) Susan Boyle." The Book Depository. N.p., 9 Feb. 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

             Flynn, Paul. "Susan Boyle." Susan Boyle. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

             "Susan Boyle." Gale Biography in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Biography In Context. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

     "Susan. (Cover Story)." Australian Women's Weekly 80.5 (2010): 36. Biography Reference Center. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

      "Susan Boyle Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.