My name is Melanie Martin. I have big green eyes, a very petite body, only about 4’11”, and used to be blonde hair, but is now white. Even though I sound mediocre, I’m not, maybe because of my problem. Everyone thinks I’m joking when I tell them this, but it’s 100% true. I hear songs about my current situation in my head that aren’t playing in real life. Many will think that it’s cool… until I tell them the other part of the issue. When I hear a song, I have a terrible urge to sing along to it, and I usually can’t resist. Of course right after I sing my heart out, I always get stared at like I'm a five year old stuck in my 78 year old body.
     Anyways, my story started when I was 22 years old. I had always been very self-conscious of my problem, especially as it got worse. In my earlier years, I would only hear songs about once a day. However, by this time I heard them as much as every two minutes.
     I was sitting down at the dentist’s office, anxious to get in and get out of there. As the nurse stepped out of a room with her clipboard, I started to hear a song. I soon recognized that it was Destiny’s Child singing. Oh no! Here it comes. Before I knew it I was, at the top of my lungs, singing, “Say my name! Say my name!” The lady looked at me like I had three heads, “You like Beyonce, huh?” I nodded my head and tried to end the conversation. As I was doing this my ear started to ring. Oh wait, that’s not ringing, I thought. That’s Britney Spears. Ugh! Yet again, I was singing. This time, “Oops I did it again!” Of course, I just had to sing a song about how I accidentally sang a song. What a terrible dilemma?!
     I knew I had to terminate this abnormality soon or I would be irate because of it for the rest of my life. I went to a neurologist to see if something was wrong with my brain, after going to multiple psychologists. Although I was hoping he could find an answer, he didn’t. I got back no unusual results. As I walked out of the office, slouched over and sad, I heard a tune, but this time it wasn’t in my head: “You are so beautiful to me! Can’t you see, you’re everything I hoped for, you’re everything I need!” I look to my right and see a muscular dark haired man with dimples that could make anyone smile. I could tell he thought I would admonish him rudely and that this would be the beginning of an altercation. He immediately apologized after singing and introduced himself: Kevin Cameron. I told him how I understood and I told him about my problem. He sat there looking flabbergasted, yet thrilled. It turns out he had the same condition I did and he was waiting to see the doctor for that reason. He knew we were meant to be, asking “Would you like to have dinner tomorrow?” This was it. I finally found someone like me, and it was love at first sight.
     During my early life I worried that people would not accept me. Now, 56 years later, I sit next to Kevin, my husband, and think about how if you embrace your differences you will find perfect harmony in the end.