Stage Lights

I lifted up my hand and watched it shake without my permission. My knees would not cease their wobbling. Feeling my stomach flutter and turn, I stood up and began to pace. In the dim light that reached behind the curtain to guide the oncoming actors and crew members, I prepared to take the stage. I repeated the lines I had said hundreds of times before once more in my mind. Breathing deeply to calm my anxious body, I listened for my cue. I moved closer and closer to the curtain as I awaited the words that brought my character to life. I heard them, and I stepped into the bright illumination. Leaving the backstage pantomime, I entered an imaginary world filled with imaginary people. But at that point, it all seemed real. Nothing in the universe mattered except for the character that I knew so well. I forgot all of my cares, worries, hopes, and dreams. I transformed into my character, and her thoughts, feelings, and actions became my own. A thrill came over me like never before. I felt as though nothing could harm me. Electricity flowed through my body, yet peace and contentment came at the same time. Then, it ended as quickly as it had begun. I had discovered a place where I felt invincible, a place where, if even for a few short minutes, I could fly free. I had found passion inside of me, and it had found me on the stage.


anecdote [an-ik-doht]
-noun
a short account of a particular incident or event of an interesting or amusing nature, often biographical

It may not be interesting or amusing, but it is biographical.