Hesperis, take heart. I am sure that not only can you sing, you can sing well enough that people will enjoy listening to you. What might open the door for you is taking lessons from a really good voice teacher. I would recommend someone with a strong classical background, not because the only good singing is what they do at the Met, but because someone with that kind of training is likely to have the skill to open up your voice, and let you reach your potential. Whatever you were told about your voice when you were a child may well have been wrong then, and is probably wrong now. Don't worry if you aren't Cecilia Bartoli. We already have Cecilia Bartoli. What we need is Hesperis.

Someone you know can probably point you in the direction of a good voice teacher. If not, get out the Yellow Pages.

Edmund