It was March, 2011 and guess who landed a lead role in the sixth grade drama play?

That’s right, yours truly. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. To begin with I wasn't the most confident person. I had always been a shy person and never had many long term friends. In school I was so nervous all the time. I would wear the same jacket every day and only take it off at home, possibly because it brought a sense of comfort. That jacket helped me get through everything from Elementary school to Middle school. I finally came to my senses one day and talked to my guidance teacher about being shy and my unreasonable dependance on my jacket. I wanted, no needed, to get out more to meet new people. Being an antisocial middle school weirdo was killing me. “Drama,” she paused for a painstakingly long time. “ I think you should try acting.” She was perfectly insane, I thought. “Drama will help you be more talkative and not be so anxious. You will have more courage to speak your mind.” Me of all people absolutely can not act, especially in front of many others. “Drama will allow you open up,”she said. I didn’t really have any other options so I took her advice and signed up.

    On the first day I was so nervous. Walking into the classroom, I silently peered around the room, which was divided with different blocks of colors around a square stage in the complete center of the room. I didn't know many people and had absolutely no friends in the room so I just stood quietly next to an obscure costume rack. Trying to hide in that room was like trying to hide candy from young children, impossible. Walking into the room in a flamboyant fashion, was the drama teacher. “ Hello, hello, hello, everyone!” Her voice was deafeningly loud, “My name is Ms. (blank) and I will be your drama teacher for this wonderful semester!” She was slightly intimidating and very odd. She was in her mid-to-late 40s, had short curly brown hair, brown almond shaped eyes. She wore overalls every single day. I expected the drama teacher to be a little ‘different’ but she was a bit more than I expected. Ok, a lot more than I expected.

    The first day in drama was all about the rules and regulations. She did briefly talk about what we would do in drama, but with the rush and excitement of the new year no one really remembered. The second day came and she had everyone stand in a circle. “ I want everyone to introduce themselves. Tell us your name, your hobbies, and why you took drama.” We introduced ourselves one by one. It was like a ticking time bomb. Ticking and ticking until it ended on me. I froze. “ Don’t be shy now, everyone must go,” she exclaimed. “ My name is Elizabeth. I like videogames and drawing.” Dear God, I almost stuttered. “ And why did you sign up for drama class?” I was so incredibly nervous but I had to say it. I had to. “ I think drama is really cool and fun,” I said with ease. So what. Maybe I lied. Keeping cool wasn't easy, but not impossible. It was over. The anticipation, the feeling of doom was finally over. Everyone else took their turn but before I knew it the class was over. Finally, I thought to myself as I quickly exited the hellish prison addressed as drama class.

The majority of what we did at the beginning of the semester was getting used to the class and the environment. We did a variety of entertainingly childish activities and cringeworthy, awkward warm-ups. I could have sworn I did more mature activities in Elementary school. Learning to juggle halfway through the semester, I failed miserably, but had lots of fun.

Time  passed and we started to go more into acting out and memorizing scripts. We read many interesting scripts to start out with until we started to actually act out scenes. The class improved at acting and memorization of the scripts so the drama teacher decided it was time to introduce the play we would perform for everyone on our hall. The play was regarding The Civil War, specifically about Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee in the Revolutionary War.

   Undoubtedly wanting the lead role, I did not care both roles were male. Everyone, or at least most my peers, tried their best during practice. We all had a week to practice for auditions, and of course, it came sooner than expected. The nervousness hit me right in the gut. I won’t go into specifics but I tried my best and my audition went seemingly well. The next day we would find out what roles and positions everyone received. I walked in nervous I would get a role of a mother or a sister, heck, I was thinking I would get the role of Ulysses’ donkey. We all sat in our usual seats. The vivacious, peppy drama teacher stood on the stage, cheerily. “ Alrighty, everyone! I will be announcing the roles for the play!” She first announced the one who would be playing Ulysses S. Grant. Then I anticipated for Robert E. Lee. “ And the role of Robert E. Lee goes to…” Holy crap I was so nervous. “ Elizabeth!”  I was in luck. I actually received the part of Robert E. Lee.  I remember being so happy and a little nervous because I had the most lines out of everyone else. That means I’d have to practice much more than anyone else, but I was prepared.

    It was the night of the performance. The costumes had been set out by the costume manager. The stagehands and lights people knew exactly what to do. I watched nervously from the changing room at all the people from our hall and my classmates’ parents fill the room. I might have been nervous but I was prepared. As soon as everyone was seated the drama teacher asked us if we were ready and we all nodded. The narrator walked out to introduce the play while the actors in the first scene grabbed any props they needed before they went up. “ Greetings parents and students of Blue Hall! I am here to proudly introduce The Revolutionary War play! Please enjoy everyone,” and the lights dimmed. The stagehands ran up to the platform and set everything up for the first actual scene. The actors started to walk up and the lights were turned on for the next scene. I didn't go up for a few scenes so I just waited patiently on the side where the costumes, props, and other actors waited. “ Hey, your scenes up next. Get ready,” said the costume manager while walking to the changing room. “Okay,” I said to myself, “ I can do this. I didn't get the lead role for nothing,” and I walked up on the stage. The rest of the play was a bit of a blur. I remember everyone looking up to me and being thoroughly interested. I did forget my lines once and the drama teacher had to whisper them to me. Other than that I did really well. The rest of the performance played out nicely and we had a standing ovation. In the end I received a really good grade for my acting and passed drama class with an A.

   Everyone, including myself, had a lot of fun. I actually wasn't that shy anymore. I made a few good, long-term friends, overcame being shy, and found out I’m somewhat of a good actor. I was literally a drama queen. Overall I think this was a huge life accomplishment for me. I learned that it’s okay to be nervous sometimes and want some alone time. It was probably the biggest change I've ever made in my life. I finally asked out my crush, was able to talk to teachers about my school work, and I could talk to new people without seeming antisocial. It was a very important life changing event and something I will never forget.