Before I started my first year of community college, I was very introverted. Making friends was difficult and the thought of speaking in front of a crowd freaked me out. But just by participating in theatre, it helped me to come out of my shell.

Just like most students going into college, I was applying for as many scholarships as I could. There were two scholarships that peaked my interest. One was the LBWCC Ensemble and the other was the Theatre scholarship. Since these scholarships apply to a community college, I could only pursue one. At first, I had no intention of pursuing the theatre scholarship because I was convinced it was way out of my comfort zone. But with the help of my family and my best friend, I ended up auditioning for it. My best friend and I had an interview with the theatre director, Mr. Lidh when the theatre department performed at my high school. A few weeks later, I received my acceptance letter! Although I was not sure if theatre was right for me, I was still excited to see what this year would hold.

As I mentioned earlier, making new friends was very stressful and hard for me so as you can imagine, the first day of theatre class was nerve-wracking. I was so worried that Mr. Lidh would make us stand up and introduce ourselves and the thought of that made my heart beat out of my chest. Thank goodness I had my best friend Grayson beside me. The class ended up getting to know each other that day and progressed every Tuesday and Thursday morning. The first semester consisted of getting to know each other and doing different improv exercises that were so much fun. I have never looked forward to an eight o'clock class so much! Throughout that semester, I quickly began to realize that this was the class I looked forward to the most.

Accepting this scholarship meant that we would travel to local elementary schools to perform to the children that attended there, every Friday. This started during the spring semester. Before Christmas break started, Mr. Lidh gave us the script for the travel show and assigned us our parts. We had to have our parts learned two weeks before the show started. I was very intimidated because I had never done anything like this before! Before we knew it, it was showtime. Even though we were performing to kids, I was still a little nervous, especially since my character started the story. But I got through it! I look back now and my first time performing was definitely my worst performance. And it only went up from there. It got to where I was so comfortable that I knew my classmates' lines and I would occasionally fill in for them if they couldn't make it to the show. One of the best parts though was the bus rides. Mr. Lidh drove us all, Shelby was the DJ, and the rest of us sang every song at the top of our lungs. Those were some of the best memories for sure!

I say all this because I'm so grateful that Grayson and my family pushed me to audition. Mom had always told me that I would love it but I always shrugged it off. Later that year, I auditioned to be apart of Mamma Mia the musical with the Andalusia high school. Some practices were long and it seemed like the closer show time approached us, the more we all got on each other's nerves. But after those eight months of long practices, it was all worth it. Performing on the stage those short two nights was the best feeling. And I wasn't even the least bit nervous! I also went ahead and took my speech class with Mr. Lidh and again, it was a breeze! I was nervous a few times, I will admit, but it was so much easier compared to before I met him! Just by participating, I have made some of the greatest friends that I know I can always count on. And I'm so very thankful for Mr. Lidh. I know if no one else does, out of everybody he will be there for me. He is one of my biggest supporters and I'm so glad I gained another cheerleader to cheer me on! If I would have never taken this class, who knows how introverted I would still be. I also would have never met Shelby from theatre class, and she is going to be at Mississippi State this fall too! I know that this has better prepared me for my future, thanks to all of the amazing people I've met along the way. So I definitely encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and audition for that play, join that club, apply for that job. You never know where it will take you and what friendships and support systems you will gain along the way.