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Because of a certain, very well known country singer celebrity, my life was changed in about as many ways as a life can be changed.

I was a teenager when it first happened. It was the summer before my junior year of high school. A good friend of mine would pick me up each morning in his little Chevy Vega Station Wagon to drive us up to band camp. As most teenagers do, he would drive around with his radio blaring. However, unlike most kids our age who were in to bands like Guns & Roses, Metallica (and so on (boy, am I dating myself?)), he was an avid fan of country music. His favorite singer (and soon to become my own) was Garth Brooks, and the album was "The Chase" (the third album of Garth's career.)

While I was not immediately taken with the genre as a whole, I absolutely loved Garth's music. Prior to hearing his music, I had pretty much ignored country music completely. However, Garth's poignant lyrics and incredible melodies just connected with me in a way that no other music had before. By the end of that summer I had purchsed several of his albums and found myself listening to little else.

My fascination with Garth's music continued throughout high school and by the time I graduated, I had pretty much decided that singing country music was what I wanted to do with my life. I had found a voice in Garth's music, and by that time, country music in general, and so I set about beginning my own country music career. I went out and purchased a used guitar, signed up for lessons, and started playing and writing. Of course, Garth's music was always on my mind and it wasn't long before I was learning to play (though poorly at first) several of his most popular songs.

By the time I was in my early twenties, I was actually working as a country singer and as a Garth Brooks impersonator, doing weddings, anniversary and birthday parties, business events and so on. I heard time and again that I look remarkably like Garth, and so I set about putting together the wardrobe to further personify my idol. People would often approach me asking for pictures or commenting on "how much I resembled Garth Brooks". It was a lot of fun, especially for someone who was trying to make a mark in music.

Ultimately though, I broke away from the Garth persona, not for any lack of interest, but out of a necessity to begin making my own identity in the country music world. Still, Garth's influence was ever present. I was still a country singer with a small, but loyal following. I was getting regular

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