Winter 2016
The Stage of Dreams
Some of us dream about being on stage at
Convention. And some of us don’t. My first convention, I
watched my brother, Ryan Thaxton, stand in front of the
whole audience on the Ramada stage. He was1st Vice
President at the time, and he seemed so confident. I
wondered what it’s like being up there. Are they nervous?
What are they thinking? With this thought, I decided to
ask my brother how the experience was for him. He said,
“I just thought it was kind of cool looking out and seeing
all the people in front of me. It’s kind of awe inspiring. It’s
cool either way, but it’s such an experience on stage.”
Ryan Thaxton speaking at the 2014 OJCL Convention
I realized that we all have different feelings about
standing up on a stage in front of everybody. Some
people are incredibly nervous, some are in awe, and some
are so confident. I set out to hear thoughts from new and
old officers about being on stage.
the waiter asks you if you want more, but you decline, she
gives that look of disappointment like she knew you
would fail all along. So, you change your mind to spite her
smug look and force down a few more until you have
eaten a respectable amount but now feel really sick. It’s
that feeling of triumph and sickness. That is how i describe
my time on stage.”
Maybe Dustin has gotten to the bottom of this, that
the true feeling of being on stage involves some made up
story about all you can eat pancakes, but I definitely know
that my first experience on stage was different than all of
these. Personally, I felt a feeling of disbelief and a feeling
of overwhelming support. I knew that whatever happened
to me up in front of everybody, I had my school and
friends out in the audience that would support me
regardless. That’s the important thing that we miss in all
that nervousness up on a stage full of people. We have
supporters in the audience, and everybody wants us to