Ally Brooke - Finding Your Harmony

Mom and Dad

Mom, you are the light of my life. You are my hero. My compass. My roadmap. My queen. My heart. My everything. You taught me the true meaning of love and belief. You always put your family first. Your strength and bravery constantly leave me awe-inspired. I would not be where I am without you. I thank God every day for you and your tender heart. I will always be your Sunshine Bird. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for everything you have done for me my entire life. You helped me to spread my wings and fly. I love you with all of my heart.

Dad, you are the sun of our family. I am so grateful to be your daughter. Thank you for always being there for Mom, Brandon and me. For always being the first to help, to make us laugh till our stomachs hurt, and to give us hope and joy. Thank you for showing Gods love to everyone you encounter, in every minute of the day. Since you first held me in the palm of your hand, youve shown me love. Thank you for all of the sacrifices youve made to make my dreams come true, and for always believing in me. I love you more than words, and I am forever proud to call you my Dad.

T hank you so much for picking up my book. It represents the culmination of a process thats been ongoing (sometimes painfully) for nearly a decade nowwhere Im finally coming into my own, as a performer and a woman, and finding myself at a place in my growth where I can fully accept who I am.

It is my honor and privilege to share my story with you. I remember looking up through the window of my room or my parents car, and I was always dreaming.

Ive always been a dreamer. Ive always been a girl of faith.

My family raised my brother and me with the foundation of Jesus and faith. I grew up going to church, and I carried my beliefs on with me as an adult. As you will see, God has carried me through my entire life. He has shown up in ways that left me awe-inspired and forever changed; in ways that I never even thought were possible. That is what Im most excited to share with you. I hope this story can inspire your faith. It is time for me to let my true voice and heart shine out, so thats what Im going to do, every day of my life and on every page of this book. This book is for all of those little girls (and boys) who look up at the night sky, searching for the dazzle of a falling star, daring to hope that their wish will come true.

All Ive ever wanted to be, since I was a little girl, is to be a lighta light in this dark world and in this dark industry. One of my favorite Bible verses of all time is Matthew 5:16, which says, Let your light shine so before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven. I hope that this book can be a light to you. And I hope it leaves you changed, the same way that my own story has left me changed.

I t looks like everybodys here! I called out.

I was in my usual spot in the backseat of my parents car, staring out the window at everything we passed, thinking and daydreaming, as I always did. When we parked, I swiveled around, noticing the familiar cars that belonged to all of my family members, parked in front of my aunts house on a street of oak trees and single-story homes, in the South Side of San Antonio, Texas. Abuzz with nervous energy, I couldnt sit still. Bubbles of excitement rose within me; I felt as if they might float me away.

Ive always been a deep feeler. When Im happy, I explode, and when Im sad, my heart is completely brokenmy soul aches. When I witness unfairness in the world, I just cant bear it. And when Im looking forward to something, I burst with anticipation. This September evening in 2012 was a combination of every kind of high and lowall at the same time. Yes, on this night, my excitement and emotions were off the charts.

Most everything was as normal as could be, except that this was the biggest night of my life. Although it was officially fall on the calendar, the air when I stepped out of the car was a hot, damp blanket of humidityonce again, the seasons would take their sweet time changing. In my beloved hometown of San Antonio, we only have two seasonsreally hot, or warm to cool in the winter, if were lucky. We were gathering as a family at my aunts housewith its fun everyones welcome vibeas wed done my entire life, for countless holidays, birthday parties, weekend barbecues, and any other excuse to get everyone together. My aunts house was cozy and warm, the perfect place for everyone to gather. I think it has a lot to do with our Mexican cultureIve always been raised that all we needed was family, food, love, and faith. With those four essentials in our lives, we dont need anything else, really.

But what was different on this particular evening was that tonight, after ten years of focus and more than a few sacrificesfrom my parents and mewhile pursuing my dream of making it as a singer, I was going to see the broadcast of my audition for the reality television music competition The X Factor. Along with the more than eight million Americans who would be tuning in to watchno pressure, right? Id had trouble thinking of anything else all day, and now that it was almost go time, I practically skipped out of the car. My family and I all knew the outcome of the audition, which Id done in Austin back in the end of May, but wed been sworn to secrecy until the results aired in September. So wed been waiting for this moment for four monthsa decade, really, if you counted all of the years since Id seriously started chasing my singing dreams when I was nine years old.

Standing on the sidewalk, I could see the glow of TVs in a few neighbors houses. How crazy and amazing it was to think that in a few minutes, my face would be staring from some of those screens as I sang my heart out for them. The thought made me wonder how I would look and sound in front of the camerasand would people like me? All Id ever wanted was to connect with an audience through what I loved most, singing out into the world with my voice, and here finally was my chance. Only, would people want to connect with me, too? I couldnt wait to find out!

As eager as I was to race inside and get this party started, I automatically paused to give my mom time to get out of the car. My family and I have always been sensitive to my moms severe scoliosis and the limitations it has put on her because of her chronic back pain. She took an extra beat to slide from under the seat belt and unfold herself to stand by the open door. Without my mom, none of this would have been possible. Shed encouraged me to audition for The X Factor in the first place. And in the years before that, she and Dad had dedicated a tremendous amount of time, money, and efforteven selling the property where theyd planned to build their dream home and living part-time in LAto support my singing. I helped my mom pull the special cake shed gotten for tonight out of the car, and we made our way across the street. As we rang the doorbell, the three of us exchanged excited smiles. This was it. As soon as the door swung open, a cheer exploded from the room, catching us up in their spirited joy.

There she is! someone called out.

I screamed, giddy with all of the anticipation inside of me. There was the familiar delicious spread of refried beans, homemade rice, beef tacos, and chalupas, all piled onto a long table, along with giant bottles of soda, especially Big Red, because were from Texas, and its pretty much the state soda. Grinning ear to ear, I was swept up into the welcoming arms of my familymy grandma, my aunt Rose and my other aunts and uncles, my cousin BJ and a dozen other cousins, my brother and his girlfriend, whos now his wife. Were extremely close, and weve always celebrated our victories as a unit and comforted one another in hard times. They are home to me, so there was nowhere else I would have wanted to be for this biggest night of my life, so far.