My Moment
By: Kanisha Shiv
What if I make a mistake? What if I fall off the risers? What if I did something weird? What if I did something wrong on one of the biggest stages in the world? All of those thoughts are like never ending waves crashing into me! I have to admit, I am scared.
Performing at Carnegie Hall isn’t an easy thing, especially when it's your first time! To perform at Carnegie Hall you had to trust yourself, you had to know yourself. But, I can’t even trust my hands! I’m still trying to find my strengths and weaknesses! I look at the other kids who were performing too. They are all swirling around with excitement and laughter except, some kids who were unsure just like me! They are all jumping around in their little black and white dresses and suits. I could feel joy inside the room as it flows into us except me, who seems to have a big bubble blocking out all the drama. There were kids from all around the world! I am from " Rise Up Chorus" but, that didn’t matter now, together we are The National Kids Choir!
Right now, we are in the Waiting Room, waiting to be called down to perform. The waiting room is plain old white with some carvings on it, has some paintings, and some chairs around the corner. To be honest, I didn’t want them to call us down! I’m pretty sure I was not going to live to tell the tale! I start drinking a lot of water, I didn’t want my voice to crack and trail off! That usually happens when I ‘m on stage!
“ Alright guys, I think their gonna call us down soon so, finish up your snacks!”, reassured Mrs. M ( Rise Up Chorus’s director).
I look at Mrs. M walking around in her flowery dress with a smile on her face. I could see no hints of nervousness on her face, though. Her high heels click as she walks around spreading the excitement. We quickly finish our snacks and sit motionless well, at least me. I couldn’t think of anything else than fainting when I got up on stage!
“ Okay guys, Mr. Lec is setting up the stage right now and the chairs are filling up pretty fast! Soon, we’ll be called down! “, exclaims Olivia ( Mr.Lec’s assistant)
Mr. Lec or Henry Lec the director of the National Kids Choir was getting the stage ready, we must be going down really soon. We gather around Olivia as she gave us more information. Soon, her twinkling green eyes were fixed on to us.
“ You guys have worked so hard on this! Two whole months of training! This is your moment, give it all you got! “
When I heard those words I wanted to just fade away! Give it all I got? Probably not! But, it was true that we trained 2 whole months for this! So, I guess if I didn’t give my best those 2 months would be useless! Then, at the corner of my eye, I saw Mr. Lec walk in! He looks at us with his liquid blue eyes. My heart was racing soo fast, I almost got a heart attack!
“ It’s almost time for your big moment guys! Gather around!” , Mr. Lec says.
As we gather around Mr. Lec, I start to feel uneasy. There are thousands of butterflies in my stomach, trying to fly their way out. After our little gather around, Mr. Lec leaves us with panicked minds. I went back to my seat and sit motionless, again. After a few minutes, I caught a glimpse of one of the backstage workers sneaking in.
“ It’s time.”, he whispers to Olivia with a clenched smile.
It was time! It was time for our moment!
“ It’s time for your big moment guys!”, exclaims Olivia.
As we started lining up, I look at our choir teacher( Mrs. M), and gave her an uneasy look but, she just smiles and fades away as her blonde hair waved like beachy waves. Usually, she understands what I mean but, I guess she didn’t this time. I feel like I was going to throw up! I swear that I could feel a big lump in my throat. Why did I agree to do this??? I get into line and took a deep breath, this might not be that bad! In a second, we are out of the Waiting Room, on our way to the stage. My heart was heavy and full of random thoughts. I was in a moment the eye could not see.
As I walk onto the stage I saw an ocean full of people! There was an unimaginable crowd! As I got onto the risers I could feel the color draining from my face! My mouth was dry, even after drinking all of that water!!! I wish that the lights would grow a little less bright but, it didn’t! The lights are pouring into me like never ending rain. There are beautiful carvings on the walls, each having their own little story. The bright red room stares at me. There are bright red chairs and voices that echo the room. The stage is sooooo big! I bet they could fit thousands of full-grown elephants in there! I look around, I could see thousands of beady little eyes staring at me! I give them a “DON’T JUDGE ME!!!“ type of smile, unfortunately, it doesn’t help. I slowly got on the risers resisting not to fall down right on my face!
Then, I see Mr. Lec walk up onto the stage, with his black suit and a bright red tie, his blonde hair shined in the bright light. He gives a page long speech which I kinda enjoy! At this point, I would enjoy anything that would delay our performance! Soon, I hear music echo the room, then it starts flowing into me! It was taking control of me! I start forgetting about all of my worries! I start tapping my foot to the beat, and before I knew it, I was singing! As I start to sing my butterflies finally find a way out!
I never want this to end!!! The moment that I was scared for was now, hanging on to me begging not to be lost. But, everything has to come to an end, and so did my moment! I took one last look at Carnegie Hall before I exited the stage. The whole audience was on their feet clapping like wild animals on the loose! We deserved it!
“ Bye Carnegie Hall!” , I scream as we exited off the stage.
As I make my way to the waiting room, I feel a wave of pride rush over me! We sang seven songs and I never fell off the risers on any of them! My heart was light but, still beating a billion miles per minute! I ‘m proud of myself! Not, for not falling off the risers but, for facing my worst fear! I didn’t know why I was scared? As I enter the Waiting Room I see my mom with her long beachy dress waving at me. Next, to her is my dad and my sister, they are grinning at me wildly! They were apart of the audience too! I run to them and give them a big hug!
“ We're so proud of you! “, they both exclaim with joy.
I could see a glimpse of pride in both of their eyes. I look at my sister who is carrying a small bag covered with flowers.
“ This is for you”, she says shyly.
I open the bag, inside I see a bouquet of flowers and a small magnet! I took the magnet out, there is a picture of Carnegie Hall on it! It was a souvenir! I loved it!
“ Thank you sooo much!” , I exclaim.
As I say my last goodbyes to Carnegie Hall, I knew this was a day I would never forget!
STAY TUNED...
