I’ve resorted to watching online videos about how to do stuff more times than I care to remember. In university, I didn’t know how to boil an egg, so I searched for a video and learned how. A colleague didn’t know how to install a laminate floor. She, too, searched for a video and learned how to lay down that tile like it was her job! It’s how I made my friends bouquet, how I discovered what goes in mayonnaise, how to make bread, and the list goes on and on and on.

Watching and learning through videos is a valuable educational tool. Sure, a time waster too, but if viewed with intention and purpose, you too can become a world-renowned opera singer just like 12-year-old Amira Willighagen.

Yes, you read that right. Amira taught herself to sing simply by watching YouTube videos. She is a self-taught soprano with a passion for opera so big, she scored an audition on “Holland’s Got Talent,” won a Golden Ticket to advance to the show’s final round AND actually won the entire competition with 50% of the viewer’s vote. This gal’s got gusto!

And that’s only the beginning. She went on to record her album, “Amira,” and garnered over 36 million views on YouTube. Her talent is immense, and for such a young girl to take the world by storm is unheard of. Operatic heavy hitters like Neapolitan-Austrian singer Patrizio Buanne caught wind of her burgeoning career, and sang “O Sole Mio” with her as a duet for the Classics is Groot concert in South Africa.