I chose the more challenging piece, despite Shawn’s warning. The first two or three times I practiced with Mr. Nuss. Then I started to practice with Shawn and he would tell me to do things that Mr. Nuss hadn’t thought of or completely different from what I was originally told. They were confusing at times because they had different ‘visions’ if you would. One day Shawn would tell me to do one thing then the next day Mr. Nuss would ask why I’m doing it that way, and wouldn’t it be better like this?
The day had come, what I had been waiting for since I picked my piece, Contest. I REALLY wanted to go to State, more than most people could comprehend.
The whole time I practiced, I always looked at Shawn or Mr. Nuss. When I looked at the room at Contest I noticed, much to my dismay, the judge was off to the side instead of directly in front of me. I started to panic then, but Shawn told me it wasn’t a big deal. I put it out of mind for a while, but as my time drew closer, I started to freak out again. I saw Gale and I asked for her opinion, I trusted her and she had been a judge before. She thought that it didn’t matter that much and that I should just do what I was comfortable with. I decided to face Shawn, who said he would be in the back of the room. I knew my script, I had been through it a thousand times, I knew I had support and I knew I could do it. And yet, there was that little seed of doubt buried in my gut.
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