Throughout my whole life I struggled with being shy. My freshman year in high school I decided I didn’t want to be shy, I wanted to be able to get up and talk in front of people without being afraid. Which would be extremely hard for me considering I could not talk to a single person without being afraid. I set a goal to overcome my shyness before I graduated high school. The first step I took was joining the drama class at school. After the first semester of being in the class with little change in my fear I decided to take it a step farther and audition for the after school drama club play. I got a small part in the play, but I was still extremely nervous. The first couple practices were very difficult. I felt awkward, inexperienced, and out of my comfort zone. I wanted to give up, but I decided that I need to push myself and face the challenges in order to grow. The more we practiced the more comfortable I got on stage. Soon I was looking forward to practices, instead of being afraid of embarrassing myself. I learned to laugh at my mistakes, and allow them to help me improve. I learned to love the stage, and made it a safe place. I made friends, found a hobby, and discovered a talent; none of which was part of my goal or plan when I joined drama. I even continued drama club after the play which was also not part of the plan. I now love performing, and speaking in front of others. But if I had not pushed myself to join drama I would still be too shy to get on a stage, or in front of a class. The people in drama club taught me an important lesson: it’s more important to care about what you think of yourself than what others think of you; and I have kept that lesson with me the rest of my high school years.
