Tina’s Stage Fear

Tina was a student of grade 6 in Orchid International School. She was good at studies and was very much interested in co-curricular activities like dancing and singing, but she never participated in any competition or even on the annual day of her school. She was a really good dancer but she was scared to perform in front of an awfully large audience. She kept avoiding her performance until one day when her class teacher made it compulsory for everyone to participate in the annual day. Tina appealed to her class teacher, Miss Stella, to excuse her from performing but the teacher disagreed. She tried to encourage Tina to perform and told her she knew that she could dance very well and was looking forward to her performance.

Tina felt good about the confidence and faith Miss Stella had in her, but at the same time this made her more nervous she thought to herself “What if I am not good enough? What if I fall while performing? Everyone will laugh at me and make fun of me.” She got home all discouraged and despondent. Looking at Tina her mother figured out that something was not well. Her concerned mother asked Tina, “What is wrong child? You look worried.”

To this, she replied “Mom I have to perform at our annual day and there is no way I can get away with it. I’m scared I do not want to perform; I feel nervous and I know either I will forget my steps or I will trip on the stage and embarrass myself.” To this her mother said. “Tina there is no need for you to worry you are a great dancer and I understand how you are feeling, when I was a child, I too was scared of performing but my teacher told me that in order to conquer my fear, I should do what I was afraid of, avoiding it will only make it bigger and stronger. Darling Tina you will not embarrass yourself we will practice for the dance together we will make sure you are prepared enough to go on stage and perform. We will practice some breathing exercises which will help you relax before the performance. Turn your fear into excitement. This is the first time you will be performing in front of a large audience. It is going to be an experience that you will cherish your whole life dear.” To this Tina replied with a wide smile and said, “I love you mom, thank you for encouraging me and supporting me. I will try to deliver my best performance.”

After a week it was time for Tina to perform. As soon as her name was announced on the mic, she could hear her heart beat faster. Just then she practiced breathing techniques her mother had taught her and reminded herself what her mother told her the other day. She went on the stage with a beaming smile and performed her heart out. After her beautiful performance, everyone praised her and she was so proud of herself that she did not give up and faced her fears.