The stage was set with a somber mood. The crowd hushed and the show began. The lights came up on stage and there it was! The makeup and the costumes, the singing, and the dancing. I was a footman! I felt special. It was the take-off of my acting career, my very first musical in 7th grade “Annie.” I tenaciously joined hoping that I would become less shy. I never realized until actually being part of a production that there is a lot of backbone to it. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but I knew I was ready to take on the challenge.
After my first show, I was intrigued with theater and wanted to continue on. The only issue was that I also wanted a lead role. This was a problem considering I had about no experience. The spring play came around and I tried my very best… but I got a small part. Then, that same year everyone lettered, except for me. I was so confused and felt left out. A question I use to frequently ask myself is “Would I ever be good?”. My parents talked to some of the high schooler's parents. They confessed that their children had the same struggles I did. But in the end, they stuck it out and did wonderful things. I thought back on my entire life how people would tell me I’m good at art. I believed everything I was told. It was until I received the rejection of the cast list that I actually felt talentless. Like I wasn’t good enough.
I let the summer pass and I thought I would come back even better. This time around, I received a bigger role than last year and even a solo! I felt so accomplished. Soon afterward my friends came upon me like vultures and interrogated me. They wanted to know if I was going to join speech. At first, I saw this as more public speaking activity than acting activity. Curiosity took over me and  I decided to give it a try anyway. I was so wrong and I failed to realize that there are different categories where I can act. So I found my first piece and started my speech career. Sadly, I did horrible and only placed about twice. The same feeling of hopelessness returned. But I tried turning that feeling into motivation. The results were remarkable.
Finally, I ended up here, my freshman year. For theater, I knew I had to go into that audition with a song I liked. Even though I’m not much of a singer I practiced my song everyday until my audition. When the audition came I acted to best of my ability. I ended up getting a smaller part again. I was disappointed at first, but I had fun with the people I worked with. I enjoyed working hard and seeing the outcome of it which took away my disappointment. After the musical, speech came around. For the first time, I placed in varsity and I quickly climbed from invitationals to subsections to sections. Like a flash, I had made it from the first tournament to sections. It was the moment everyone was waiting for, the postings. The elimination round and who would be in it. A crowd of people swarmed the sheets, some left crying because they knew it was over, and some just walked away. As the crowd cleared I looked at the sheet and I saw my name at the very bottom. I didn’t know what to think except that I had a chance, and that I have a chance to make it to state. The top three in each category advanced to state. As I walked to my room I thought about it statistically. I sat in my round and waited and tried to calm my nerves. They called my name and I stood up and looked at the judges. This whole time since I saw my name on the sheet I thought about a guy from our town. He made it to state as a freshman. I thought, “Why can’t I?” and I told myself, “I can do anything.” However then I thought about the statistics again and I said, no. They may have gotten a better score than me in the round but right now I’m having fun and I don’t care. I finished my speech and  I sat back down and I said, “Well I did my best and I had fun.”That’s all that really matters. Later it was time for awards. They called up the finalists for my category and my heart was racing a mile a minute. I waited as they called off names, I didn’t care about the names until they called my own, which determined the future of my freshman  speech career. Finally, they got to the 4th place spot, and it seemed like the world stopped for one second. It started spinning again when they called a name. That name wasn’t mine. I knew in that moment I made it to state. I won 3rd and advanced to state. My hard work finally paid off and I knew from that whole experience I can do anything if I believe in myself.
Although the first performers at state were incredible, I didn’t let that stop me from having a good time. Sure, I didn’t place but I learned that ribbons and medals don’t define you. I was content with that. Then the spring play rolled around and I auditioned for the part of Edmund in “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”. I was astounded when I was chosen for the role. But I knew in my heart I would get it because I just believed in myself. The show was amazing and I had so much fun. I made memories and new friends and learned something important.
After my freshman year I learned that I am going to have highs and lows. But it doesn’t matter if I have more lows than highs, because I just need to have fun.  All I need to accomplish this task, is to believe in myself.