Riley's+memoir+12

Bones shaking! Heart pounding! I was stuck in deep with dreadful "What ifs?" and other terrifying notions. What was I supposed to do? If I say yes I'd be at the risk of embarrassing myself, but if I say no... will I regret it? I was at war with myself! Back and forth! Yes and no! Little did I know I was in for a... well... let's just say, "Life changing" experience.

I had never been in; rather, try out for a play before! Especially not a famous one like "The Wizard of Oz"! All I had to do was sing, read a line from the script, and dance for the choreographer (dance instructor)! How hard would that be? But what if I can't do it? What if I am not good enough? Those questions were boulders tumbling around in my head! For days I paced and pondered, until finally, the day came.

My Mom slipped into my room that morning while I was puzzling on my conundrum, and asked me if I wanted to go. I was about to tell her no out of the risk of being embarrassed but then I heard it. A little whisper in my head cheering me on! It said, // "Yes! Yes! Go!" // I've never been sure what happened next... only that I felt my head nod up and down helplessly as if it was all I could do.

The very next scene I saw was me staggering into the car. I would have said I'd changed my mind but that darn whisper kept buzzing those words around in my head! When I finely shook the whisper out of my head, it was too late to turn around. What was I to do? We were pulling into the parking lot, and before I knew it... filling out paperwork in the lobby! It was moving along quickly and I was in a deep state of shock! When we walked into the seating room (I later learned that it was called a house.) I inhaled the scent of bat droppings and heard hushed voices murmurings. As I walked in, a lady handed me a number, and when a man up front called it out to the crowd, it would be my time to succeed on all that I was trying to avoid... or fail in front of strangers and my mother. It seemed like forever for the man to actually get to my number (and I was hoping he'd forget to say 31), but when he did... I froze.

My Mom handed me my music, but all I could do was take it. I was about to faint... when I heard it again! The whisper! It called out, // "You can do it!" // it was faint, but as I listened to it more, it grew! It grew and grew, until it was shouting! // "YOU CAN DO IT!!!" // I smiled! I was over come with joy! The "What ifs" were butter, melting into a syrup like goop and nothingness! I raced up to the stage, handed the lady my music, said my name and sang. My elegant voice swept away the crowd before me! When it ended, I couldn't wipe the proud grin of my face! I knew then... I had done it!

The rest of the night went great! I honestly didn't even care if I made it in (I did though, as a lollipop kid and a snowflake girl)! Throughout all of the other plays I have tried out for, I always remember this important one! Oh! And that voice in my head, I always think of as my self confidence! It actually helped me realize that if you believe in yourself, you can achieve your greatest goals! That truly was a day to reflect on.