By Elise Adams

I grew up performing. I was literally on stage by the time I was two and a half. My first solo came around age three—“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”—sung in front of an audience of 500.

Attending Brigham Young University and majoring in Music Dance Theater had been a lifelong dream. So when I got my acceptance letter as a high school senior, I was over the moon.

I still vividly remember my first year at BYU, sitting in a room full of incredibly talented students and feeling completely intimidated. My professor was not only a brilliant vocal coach but also a seasoned performer. I had always been a big fish in a small pond—until that moment. Suddenly, I was just another average fish in a much larger lake.

The format of the class was simple: one by one, we each performed solos while the rest of the class observed and took notes. Afterward, our professor gave us feedback, followed by a class-wide discussion dissecting the technique, emotion, and interpretation. Then, the next student would go up, and the process repeated.

Toward the end of one of those classes, our instructor, Gayle, shared a lesson I’ve never forgotten. She said: “No matter how long you perform, no matter where you go—whether you make it to Broadway or not—there will ALWAYS be someone better than you. And there will ALWAYS be someone not as good as you. There will always be someone who can teach you something. And someone you can help in return.”

I was stunned. I had never thought of life that way before. I remember exactly where I was sitting when she said it. The truth of her words sent a tingle down my spine and anchored itself deep in my memory.

For many years, I reflected on that lesson primarily in terms of my performance ability. But now, nearly 25 years later, I’ve come to see how it applies to every aspect of life.

The Law of Relativity teaches us to view our experiences in the context of something else. It stretches our perspective—and with that, brings gratitude. No matter what we’re going through—financial hardship, physical pain, emotional struggles—someone, somewhere, is facing something even heavier. And no matter how successful we become, someone will always have more. More money, more health, more family, more opportunities.

But that’s not the point. The point is, we’re always in a position to learn and to give. There will always be those ahead of us, and those we can help lift.

And when we focus on what we do have, as the Law of Relativity invites us to, we create more space in our hearts for gratitude. We find clarity. We find purpose. And we remember: we’re never truly alone on the path.

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