The Meaning in the Making

I had only just turned 17 when I left high school, which seemed too young to be heading off to university straight away, so instead, I opted to take a gap year. Driven by a love for music and singing, I decided to join a music and drama group that travelled around South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe for the whole year.

Now, truth be told, even though I loved singing, I was very insecure about my voice cracking. Some guys seem to sail through this awkward stage of puberty where, up until the age of 11 or so, they have the high-pitched voice of a child, and then simply wake up on their 12th birthday with the rock-solid, gravelly voice of James Earl Jones.

For some of us, though, it’s a long and turbulent transition with years of voice cracks and ...