Changsha Dream of Wings Blind Children Choir © studi43

The dream that wings bring me to fly

Thoughts and words about the World Choir Games by the blind children's choir from China

World Choir Games 2016

I am a visually impaired boy, and I am a member in Changsha Dream of Wings Blind Children Choir. On July 4, we departed from Changsha to Sochi to participate in the World Choir Games 2016 with hope and expectations. I was very excited.

On behalf of China and the whole visually impaired group, bearing the collective honor, the competition is meaningful for us.

The official competition came on July 8, and we were pressed for time. The second morning after we arrived at Sochi, we began rehearsal on the grassland in front of our hotel after breakfast. It was very hot and put us to a trial. Bean big sweat rolled down from our faces. Despite all this, we strictly followed the teachers’ instructions and practiced again and again. The beautiful song spread far away.

We were nervous and fearful when we went abroad first time and arrived at a completely strange place. We wanted to sing perfect but we often made mistakes during rehearsal. The teachers felt anxious but they still gave us guidance patiently. They corrected every mistake of students one by one. They encouraged us. I still remembered, in that afternoon, they gathered all of us and asked: ”Do you remember the original intention of the founding of our choir? The intention of the choir is to help you find confidence and live a happy life. I know that you want to obtain honor in the competition. For me, obtaining reward is really great, but the more important thing is to see you growing up happily. I hope that you can gain happy strength and pass it to more people."

We remained silent when hearing this. And my eyes were somewhat wet. And I could feel that we were more diligent in rehearsal. Time passed gradually. At last, hard work pays off, all of us made obvious progress with correct syllables and neat rhythm. I could feel the joy of students and the gratification of teachers.

Changsha Dream of Wings Blind Children Choir © studi43

The day of official competition came soon. When we walked into the venue, I was shocked. There were 283 choirs and more than 12000 participants from 76 countries and regions. I had never seen such a magnificent scene. We were the only visually impaired representatives of the World Choir Games. We couldn’t see the gorgeous neon lights, but we could hear the singing of other participants and prolonged and thunderous applause.

Finally, it’s our turn. We walked orderly onto the stage and unfolded our dulcet singing and characteristic culture before audiences’ eyes. We can’t see the world, but our hearts are full of light. We love singing and we love life. Difficulties can’t strike down us and we have become much stronger because of it. When we finished the performance, the venue was in silence. Soon afterwards warm applause emerged like tide without cease. We were touched and filled with tears by ourselves.

In the Closing Ceremony, when the host announced that our choir obtained the gold award, emotion broke through the last line of defense in our hearts. We cried with joy. The Five-Starred Red Flag was raised slowly, and we started to sing the national anthem brightly. We could not help ourselves and embraced together with unparalleled exciting and joy.

The competition came to an end. We came back with success and honor and met flowers, applause and different domestic mega media. At the same time, we obtained the qualification to participate in the champion competition in South Africa in 2018. This is a larger challenge for us.

After we returned to school, I was still excited when recalled the competition days in Sochi. Our choir can obtain proud achievement and we should attribute the success to our school, our teachers and our unremitting efforts.

We will amplify our effort for the World Choir Games in 2018. We will make more people understand us with our endeavor. Let our choir fly higher and further with us.

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