The room is pitch black. The only noise is the slow, heavy breathing of the audience, and the rapid heartbeat of yourself. Every single person in the audience is anticipating your every move. No mistake is hidden. Then, a light shines right on you. There’s no turning back. As the music plays, you go through the lyrics in your head and pray. You’re nervous, incredibly nervous. But it’s all worth it, because this is the amazing life of performing on stage.

I’ve always been the one to stay quiet and hide the in the background, which is why it’s ironic that I love performing on stage. As a songwriter, musician, and singer, I never pictured myself doing anything else besides performing. I am very nervous when I get on stage, and even when I have to do public speaking in front of the class. But it’s worth it if you are doing something you love. I was always that little girl playing with those musical toys, and singing to all the theme songs of my favorite children’s shows until I got it perfect.

It wasn’t until I was 10 or 11 that I got serious about music. That’s when I knew many doors of possibilities could be opened. And shortly after that, followed my interest in guitar. Two years ago I had figured out I had the ability to be a songwriter. I was so excited when we were able to write about anything in 7th and 8th grade. In my eigth grade English class we spent a lot of time writing poems. I always had ideas for poems because they were all based on my personal expierence. That’s when all my songs started to have more meaning and more structure, as opposed to when I was in 1st grade writing about Spongebob or my favorite food.

 Meaning and structure are very important when writing and perfoming my music. I want all of my songs to be based on personal experience. That is why I write about school, friendship issues, and love. I want listeners to say ‘Oh, this is exactly like something that’s happened to me.’ When I listen to my favorite songs I don’t want to think to myself ‘What is he/she talking about?!’ Just to hear people say that my song had helped them get through something or they could relate to it, makes my day. I don’t only want to be inspired, but to also be an inspiration.

 Many teens , children, and adults underestimate the art of performance. The majority enjoy it, but don’t give the singer or the band enough credit. Whether we have been made aware of it, getting ready for performances takes a tremendous amount of work and dedication. The fact that millions of people will listen to you and have some sort of judjement puts stress on the singer or band. But you know that it’s all worth it, because this is truly the amazing life of performing on stage.