Throughout most of my adolescence and few years of "adulthood", I have taken a variety of auditions. Auditions are a surreal experience. Yet, I feel as though every single audition I've taken helped to prepare me further for the "real world." By no means do I consider myself a professional. However, I have learned several valuable lessons from many humbling, slightly awkward auditions.
1. When it comes to perfecting your craft, it's best to focus on yourself.
It's always intimidating to walk into a room of talented people who are just as qualified as you. It's easy to start passing judgment on your peers. No matter what profession or field you are going into, it never helps to constantly compare yourself to others. Believe in yourself and your own knowledge or experience. Celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of others, but focus on yourself. Don't worry about how fast the person next to you is playing their etude or the prestigious summer program your colleague just got into. You still matter, and you still have something to offer.
2. Criticism does not always have to be a bad thing.
For most of life, I have not reacted to criticism well. My default reaction to criticism was anger or sadness. After years of participating in various musical activities, I have finally started to realize how useful constructive criticism can be in many facets of life. There will be instances in life where you will receive criticism from your superiors or even peers. Take it with a grain of salt, but listen. If you keep an open mind, you may gain a new, helpful perspective.
3. Be prepared.
This seems obvious, but it is often the root of success. Procrastinating is rarely the best way to go, and you'll feel infinitely better if you do yourself the favor of preparing. Not every audition, test, presentation, or competition will yield the results you want. However, you will still have gained knowledge and confidence from preparing as much as you could.
4. Sometimes bad things happen, and you just have to roll with the punches.
When it comes to auditions and life, anything can go wrong at any time. It's a simple fact that we all have to accept. You may oversleep the day of the big test or forget a couple words in your audition song. It happens to everyone at some point, and it's not the end of the world. The best way to respond to these situations is with resiliency. With that in mind--
5. Learn from your mistakes, and move on.
You messed up? It will be okay. Make a note to avoid making that mistake in the future, but don't dwell on it. Making a mistake will not void all of your hard work. Keep practicing. Keep learning. Keep working to get better at whatever it is you do. It will do you no good to beat yourself up and throw a pity party.
