Showtime, houselights go down.

The butterflies threaten to fly up into my throat,

Chest tight, breathing in, breathing out.

Checklist:

Costume, Breathe, Hair, Breathe, Props

I'm alert, and aware, and I'm a nervous wreck.

Like a brand new book being opened for the first time,

The curtains part and the limelight turns on,

Like the sun rising in fast forward.

The world I know stops,

And a brand new world,

A brave new world begins.

This is the part where I can completely let go.

This dress is not mine, these words are not mine, these feelings are not mine,

But I feel more like myself than I ever have.

I'm stuck in a blur, a whirlwind of colors and light and all these feelings I thought I could never feel,

Hypnotized,

Until the applause shakes me out of my trance.

Everything is bright and shining, and beautiful beaming smiles are all I see,

And I'm walking on air.

For one night, I'm no longer the quiet, shy, invisible girl.

I'm any and every girl I've ever wanted to be.

Funny, how, for some, we feel most ourselves when we're not ourselves.