There comes a time in every person's life where they find exactly who they are supposed to be. For some, this time doesn't occur until later in life. However, I found myself the second semester of my junior year of high school while I was standing on my school's stage. For some, theatre is an art form used for occasional entertainment. For me, theatre is what set me on my own personal road to success.
It was the second week of March; a Tuesday night, I believe. I was preparing for my first performance in front of an audience that consisted of more than just my classmates. Nervous was an understatement of how I was feeling that night. See, I was always the quiet girl who never enjoyed being at the center of anyone's attention. The only reason I took theatre classes in the first place was because my friends did, and it was the easiest thing to take for a fine arts credit. I never saw myself as a person who could get up and speak in front of people, let alone perform. However, here I was, waiting in the wings, waiting for my turn to go on stage and hopefully not choke or fall off the stage. Spoiler alert: I survived.
I was on stage for no more than ten minutes, and then it was all over. I walked back to the dressing room and I felt exhilarated. At some point during my short performance, everything clicked. I felt this wave of relief wash over me, and I just knew that everything was right. That knowledge was confirmed when I went out into the lobby after the show was over and people told me how great of a job I had done. This is what I'm supposed to be doing is all that ran through my head that night, and because of that, my entire life changed.
I took theatre again my senior year. I had many more public performances, every one better than the next. It was more than just acting for me, though. Don't get me wrong, getting to add roles to my acting resume was exciting, but being able to grow as a person was worth so much more than any part I could've gotten.
Theatre gave me the opportunity to make so many good friends. Friends that supported me through literally everything. It allowed me to go on trips and show my talents to people outside of my own community. Most importantly, theatre showed me that being me was the best thing I could ever do. I no longer had any reason to hide myself from my peers because I knew what I was capable of. I stopped being the girl who never spoke up and I transformed into the girl who stood up, grabbed life by the horns, and let the world be aware of my presence. That short scene that I performed that March evening provided brief entertainment for many, but for me, it sent me on the road to self discovery.
