Sierra’s Story

Sierra (Age: 18-24)

Singing, to me, is a way to express my thoughts, emotions, and experiences in a way that can sometimes transcend words. As someone who is also not the best at socializing, singing helps me to do so. It is also a way to share others' voices, and that has always been beautiful to me. 

SINGING PRACTICE

Sierra is an undergraduate music major and choral singer.

SIERRA’S STORY

Sierra has been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and fibromyalgia. She experiences generalized hypermobility but has not sought a diagnosis yet.

I am actually fairly new to the whole idea of chronic illness. I was completely healthy up until my freshman year of college (Fall, 2022 to be exact), when an infection screwed with my body and the way it worked. The next two years, I worked to find out why my body was hurting and why I couldn’t withstand things I normally could. I always felt bad when I had a doctor's appointment because after a bad experience at my old pediatrician’s office, I thought everything was just stress-related, and that I was wasting these specialists’ time. However, in the past few weeks (it’s now Spring 2025), I have realized that it, in fact, was not all stress related or that I was crazy. I have several REAL medical conditions.

I will also say that finally getting those diagnoses, though absolutely relieving to me, was hard. I learned that I would have to maintain treatments and medication for the rest of my life, and that was incredibly daunting to think about, especially with my hopes for the future. 

Has your singing practice or pursuit of singing shifted in any way since your diagnosis/onset of symptoms?

I had to change my major from a BM [Bachelor of Music in Vocal Music Education] degree to a BA music [Bachelor of Arts in Music] degree due to the demands and the exhaustion it caused. … There are days of the week I don’t practice because I’m too fatigued or in pain to concentrate, not to mention the brain fog my symptoms brought on made me question my intelligence. I even have to limit the things I take on like shows and rehearsals.

ACCOMMODATIONS THAT HELP SIERRA WHILE SINGING

Sitting on a stool during choir concerts, option to sit in voice lessons to avoid putting excess weight on flaring joints

SIERRA’S ADVICE

For singers: 

Do not be afraid to advocate for yourself. You are a human being and deserve to be treated with respect, care, and compassion by those around you. I would also say that you are not alone in what you are feeling. It may seem like you are alone and that the world is against you, but there are people just like you, who experience the pitfalls and challenges of chronic health issues, and they will embrace you. Further, you are not a failure if you can’t stand during choir rehearsal, or if you need to miss class to rest. 

For professionals working with singers with these conditions: 

Have grace and compassion. While this singer may look and sound completely fine on the outside, they struggle everyday. Do not judge them for needing to take a break for the day, or modify staging, movement, exercises, etc. Make sure they feel safe in the environment you create because that will make a world of difference to them.