Just Do It Essay example

Submitted By irockguitar95
Words: 1178
Pages: 5

H. Pickett
Northern Virginia Community College
ENG 111-022W
"The Bravest Thing I've Ever Done"
September 13th, 2013

Just Do It

The bravest thing I have ever done was when I had conquered one of my greatest fears. I was fifteen years old. My best friend, Samantha, asked me if we could do a duo at her high school’s coffee house. She would sing and I would play the acoustic guitar. This was my very first guitar performance.

I have been playing since the age of six years old. I stopped within the same year I started. I gained back the interest around 12 years old and started to learn the guitar again. I was a very quick learner and became an intermediate player in no time. I had such a passion for music and to play music…alone. I was exceedingly petrified to play in front of others.
My church has a worship team that plays worship music on Sunday mornings and a praise team that plays worship music for the youth group on Tuesday nights. I’ve gotten involved with the praise team and played guitar for them. It was practically like my very first performance, but we are taught that leading people in worship and performing are two very different things. For worship, the pressure isn’t on how well you play; it’s not about you. For performing, it is on how well you play; it is about you. It’s a different experience. I have done worship, but not performing. After playing for the church I gained confidence in my guitar playing, I started to feel comfortable on stage. I actually did want to start performing.

When Samantha asked me to play at her high school’s coffee house, I was a little hesitant. We went to different schools. She went to public school and I was homeschooled. I was homeschooled since the 6th grade, so it has been awhile since I’ve been in the public school setting. The thought of playing in front of kids who go to public school was utterly intimidating.
I didn’t let that stop me though. I may have been fearful to play in front of others, but I was determined to satisfy this new hankering to actually perform.

Samantha and I decided that we would each choose a song for us to play. She chose the song “Utopia” by Within Temptation and I chose the song “Jar of Hearts” by Christina Perri.
With very little practice we had the songs down and perfected as well as we could. Our musical talents came together effortlessly, this made me feel more confident.
The day came of the coffee house, September 23rd, 2010. I was mentally prepared although, wanting to get the performance done and over with, for I was incredibly nervous.
Thankfully, my younger sister, Megan, came along for support and to film our performance.
Support is definitely a confidence booster.

We arrived at the school and the fear set in. Being inside the public school was almost terrifying. The feeling was almost claustrophobic. The hallways were so big with tons of lockers, yet so small just imagining what a school day would be like with it filled with students. We passed by classrooms. I remembered the days when I was in public school, back when I was in elementary school. Classrooms were one of the most fun, yet scary, parts of school. I remember getting called on to answer things I didn’t know the answer to or having to present school projects in front of class. I missed learning things with other kids. I didn’t miss those presentations though, so I was glad I was homeschooled.

After that reminiscence, we came to a sign in table just outside of the cafeteria where the coffee house was located. We signed in and took a look around at where we were going to play.
They had the lunch tables for people to sit at and a section for the “stage” to be displayed. There were microphones, a bunch of cables, and what looked like guitar amps and speakers for the microphones. There were about twenty or so people and a few acts had already gone up. They had just gotten started on the