As my Mom glides the dark red lipstick across my lips, I feel my palms dampen. I glance into the mirror, and a girl looks back at me–a girl transformed with complete stage makeup on her face, and a glimmering white costume. A girl who is about to walk onto a large stage and dance solo for the first time. A girl who is almost unrecognizable. This girl is me. Before I even allow my mind to comprehend this transformation, I hear my name… “Penelope! Are you ready?” My teacher calls out to me with a backdrop of one thousand faces. It is time.

I hold my Mom’s hand tightly, taking comfort in her familiar embrace. I want the world to freeze so I can live in this safe, comfortable moment forever. But, it is my time. Our hands slip away from each other. “I love you more than you know, Penelope. I couldn’t be more proud of you,” my Mom tells me as she kisses me on the forehead. The further we walk away from each other, the more I want to run back and seek shelter in her arms.

I am pulled to the wings of the stage by my teacher. The view is like a magical light show for my eyes. It is hard to believe that in just a few minutes I am going to have a stage so large and brilliant all to myself.

“Penelope!” The stage manager calls out to me, “you’re next.” My heart starts pacing. It is beating so quickly and intensely I feel as though it is going to leap right out of my chest. As the music ends and the dancer on the stage gives her final bow, I know I am about to go on. It is real now. No going back, no hiding. I hear my name –“Next, we have Penelope Carroll performing O by Coldplay!” My legs start moving without my brain’s consent. The first step from the dark wings to the beaming stage is a shock to my system. The lights are one hundred times brighter than they were from the wings. The applause roars. I hear my name being called out by the audience. This is it.

As I wait for the music to begin, I can’t help but notice my costume, glistening under the bright stage lights. It is almost as if the stage has brought my costume to life.

Suddenly, the music plays, and my body starts moving. The audience before me is invisible. All I can see is darkness, not a single head in view. I am alone, in a magical world where time stands still, and for just this moment, everything is in the right place. It’s truly an unstoppable feeling. It’s as if all of the fear leading up to this moment continued to accumulate just so it could vanish the moment the music played. And when it did, I was free.

I finish my last movement, holding onto it like I did my Mother’s hand, and the music fades. The sound of the applause fills the entire theater, its energy penetrating my soul.

By Penelope Carroll ‘28, Contributing Writer

28pcarroll@montroseschool.org