I can still remember how instead of playing with balls or plastic swords, I took a wooden spoon and imagined it was a microphone. I sang in choirs and acted in school plays. I always had a huge smile on my face when the audience cheered and clapped.

After a few years, I auditioned for the band Menudo. The judges greeted me.

“What’s your name?” One of the judges asked

“Enrique Martin,” I replied.

I felt a little nervous as I sang on the stage, in front of the judges. After I finished, I looked at the judges’ faces. They didn’t look very impressed. They whispered for a little while and then looked up at me.

“Thanks for auditioning today, Enrique. We’ll let you know if we think you’re ready to join Menudo.”

I nodded and left.

I later found out they thought I was too short and that my singing voice wasn’t good enough. I was only 12 so I shouldn’t have been too surprised but I instantly felt like I had gotten smacked in the face. I wasn’t used to being told things like that by the people who watched me sing or act. Although I started doubting myself, I didn’t let this make me give up. I auditioned again and noticed the judges were surprised but I still got the same result as last time. I still didn’t let this stop me. I auditioned a third time, singing loudly and by the time I was done, I was out of breath. The judges spoke to each other for a while.

One of them said “You have impressed us today, Enrique. We’ve decided that being part of Menudo will be good for you.”

“Congrats! You’re a member now!” Another judge exclaimed.

I was feeling happy, excited, and relieved all at the same time.

“Thank you!” I blurted out. I half hoped and half walked as I left.

I loved being in Menudo. Although all the other boys were older and much taller than me, I easily became friends with them. I liked singing with the other guys but I loved being the lead singer. I could sing the loudest and move around the stage listening to the crowd yell my name and sing with me. It felt great to know that my singing made people happy. At first I was surprised when so many fans asked for autographs but I got used to it even if it hurt my hands. Once, a kid came up to me with a poster of me and the other members. He had a sharpie in his other hand.

“Hey, do you want me to sign that for you?” I asked.

“Yeah,” He answered, smiling shyly. “I want to be a singer like you when I grow up.”

My cheeks hurt because I couldn’t stop smiling as I signed the poster. I had inspired somebody to become a singer like me!

Since I was in Menudo, I sang songs in many different languages such as Spanish, English, Italian, and more. I got to travel around the world and see many things. I had the life I always wanted but being far away from my family made my relationship with my dad even worse. When I was younger my parents divorced and my dad forced me to choose him or my mom. I think that’s a horrible thing to do to a child. I ended up changing my name to Ricky Martin because my name reminded me of him.

When I reached the age limit which was 17, I left Menudo. Menudo had taught me a lot and after finishing highschool, I decided to be a solo singer. Unfortunately, I signed a contract from the Latin American department of Sony Music Entertainment without reading it. I only got one cent for each disc that was sold but I didn’t care that much. I wanted to be a famous star! My songs grew popular throughout Latin America and after making “Livin’ La Vida Loca” many people throughout the United States listened to my songs.The name Ricky Martin became very well known. I did it! I had become a star and sometimes it’s still hard to believe.