Before each show, the cast gathers up as one to say a cheer. We are filled with energy and rage as it’s our last performance. I’m standing there with my closest friends. The people I grew with over the past few months of hard work and dedication. As the curtain slowly rises, I hear cheering from my family and friends, yet I still feel alone. A crowd full of people are staring at me waiting for the show to begin. I'm anxious as all could be with my heart fiercely pounding then all of sudden the song begins. The sound of an old piano plays through a loudspeaker. This is it the moment I have worked so hard for yet I can barely move. I felt as if I was trapped in quicksand and slowly sinking in. I took a deep breath and held my necklace close to my heart and sang, giving me a sense of relief. The stage was covered with the props we made weeks prior to the show. While most teens were out spending their time at parties on a Friday night we were stuck building our set in an old auditorium filled with a lingering stench of paint and freshly sawn wood. I remember it as if it was yesterday the joy of being on stage the feeling of being free and doing as I please not caring what anyone thought. My friend, Chloe, has always been here for me since we’ve started our first shows in high school. During our freshman year we joined our first high school musical. The show was named, “little women”. Back then I remember how nervous we were freaking out about every little thing and being traumatized by the stage. Now the stage is a home to me. . I'm no longer nervous of the crowd in fact, I find peace there. I no longer carry this self doubt of performing; I can finally be free there. I will always remember each and every performance I've taken place on that old rickety  stage it something I'll keep close to my heart forever.