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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Teens
- Theme: Inspirational
- Subject: Art / Music / Theater / Dance
- Published: 05/11/2023
Breaking Free
Born 2009, F, from Karnataka, India.jpeg)
I was staring at the stage, fear filling my eyes. Sweat dripped down my forehead like dewdrops from a leaf on a wintry day. I shivered like I just dove head-first into a tub of ice. My legs were jittery. I felt like something was trying to fly up out of my mouth from my stomach. I wanted to run away.
I asked myself why I had even bothered to come.
I peeked out at the stage. It was a large stage, and the lights shone brightly. I gulped down, knowing that there was no chance a single word would be able to come out of my mouth.
I went back to my corner of the green room and stared at myself in the mirror. My blue eyes seemed to have widened out of fear. I attempted to tame my bushy red hair, but my hands would not cooperate with my nervous and jittery brain. I tied my hair back into a ponytail. I stared at my reflection, trying to feel some hope and confidence creep back into me after seeing my pale face. I closed my eyes and calmed down. I wanted to give myself some confidence, but suddenly, I heard an announcement being made.
“Annabel Macie Mackenzie, please step onto the stage and show us your talents.”
I was terrified. Butterflies filled my stomach. But I took a deep breath and finally stepped out onto the stage.
The lights suddenly flashed on. I felt like my eyes were burning. Beads of sweat began trickling down my forehead. I closed my eyes. I heard my mother's voice, convincing me not to fear the stage, and felt the encouraging hands of my friends patting my back, pushing me forward to pursue my dreams, I saw my mother looking at me in anticipation, holding my hands and telling me, "Annie, when you get onto the stage, don't worry about anything else. You must simply sing as soon as you set foot onto the stage."
I smiled. I finally knew why I couldn’t find my confidence before. My confidence remained hidden deep in my mother’s smile and my friends’ encouraging voices. It was encased within the warm embrace of music and song. I had finally accessed that treasure of music and love, and knew my performance would become one to remember even if I didn’t win. I knew that I would get too caught up in the music to mess up, and even if I did, I knew I would not spend much time over those mistakes and the music would only increase in beauty as it became obvious to people that imperfections make my piece perfect, because imperfections display true originality. I smiled and started singing.
The judges smiled for the first time. The audience clapped. After a while, the applause quietened down. The judges smiled. They said, "Annabel Macie MacKenzie, your melody was beautiful. It was truly masterful. The flow from one note to another came naturally and was executed perfectly. Truly well done."
I smiled, thanked everyone and left the stage.
A few moments later, the prizes were announced. I felt calm. The first-prize winner was called out.
“And the first prize for Best Singer goes to…"
"Annabel Macie Mackenzie!”
I couldn’t believe my ears. I, Annie, had won first prize?? It’s pretty remarkable, the things that a little confidence can do. I unflinchingly stared at the audience and the judges. I went onto the stage and received the prize with a smile, thinking about what my mother would have felt and told me if she’d seen me today. I could imagine her saying, “Annie, I am so very proud of you. You were so confident! Your song was so beautiful, my dear. How I do love hearing your voice.”
That was the best day of my life.
Breaking Free(Willow Breeze)
I was staring at the stage, fear filling my eyes. Sweat dripped down my forehead like dewdrops from a leaf on a wintry day. I shivered like I just dove head-first into a tub of ice. My legs were jittery. I felt like something was trying to fly up out of my mouth from my stomach. I wanted to run away.
I asked myself why I had even bothered to come.
I peeked out at the stage. It was a large stage, and the lights shone brightly. I gulped down, knowing that there was no chance a single word would be able to come out of my mouth.
I went back to my corner of the green room and stared at myself in the mirror. My blue eyes seemed to have widened out of fear. I attempted to tame my bushy red hair, but my hands would not cooperate with my nervous and jittery brain. I tied my hair back into a ponytail. I stared at my reflection, trying to feel some hope and confidence creep back into me after seeing my pale face. I closed my eyes and calmed down. I wanted to give myself some confidence, but suddenly, I heard an announcement being made.
“Annabel Macie Mackenzie, please step onto the stage and show us your talents.”
I was terrified. Butterflies filled my stomach. But I took a deep breath and finally stepped out onto the stage.
The lights suddenly flashed on. I felt like my eyes were burning. Beads of sweat began trickling down my forehead. I closed my eyes. I heard my mother's voice, convincing me not to fear the stage, and felt the encouraging hands of my friends patting my back, pushing me forward to pursue my dreams, I saw my mother looking at me in anticipation, holding my hands and telling me, "Annie, when you get onto the stage, don't worry about anything else. You must simply sing as soon as you set foot onto the stage."
I smiled. I finally knew why I couldn’t find my confidence before. My confidence remained hidden deep in my mother’s smile and my friends’ encouraging voices. It was encased within the warm embrace of music and song. I had finally accessed that treasure of music and love, and knew my performance would become one to remember even if I didn’t win. I knew that I would get too caught up in the music to mess up, and even if I did, I knew I would not spend much time over those mistakes and the music would only increase in beauty as it became obvious to people that imperfections make my piece perfect, because imperfections display true originality. I smiled and started singing.
The judges smiled for the first time. The audience clapped. After a while, the applause quietened down. The judges smiled. They said, "Annabel Macie MacKenzie, your melody was beautiful. It was truly masterful. The flow from one note to another came naturally and was executed perfectly. Truly well done."
I smiled, thanked everyone and left the stage.
A few moments later, the prizes were announced. I felt calm. The first-prize winner was called out.
“And the first prize for Best Singer goes to…"
"Annabel Macie Mackenzie!”
I couldn’t believe my ears. I, Annie, had won first prize?? It’s pretty remarkable, the things that a little confidence can do. I unflinchingly stared at the audience and the judges. I went onto the stage and received the prize with a smile, thinking about what my mother would have felt and told me if she’d seen me today. I could imagine her saying, “Annie, I am so very proud of you. You were so confident! Your song was so beautiful, my dear. How I do love hearing your voice.”
That was the best day of my life.
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Denise Arnault
07/17/2024What a wonderful description of stage fright. It brought us righ there in it's grip, And the we broke. Free together to succeed. We told story!!
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
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