I had only ten minutes to change out of my lehenga into this dress without ruining my hair and makeup. The lehenga was nearly twenty pounds – I could hardly remove my blouse due to the stress/excitement of chaos. Somehow I managed to do so with my Mom’s help (shoutout to backstage Moms). I felt so much lighter as I walked out.
My knees suddenly became weak.
I felt my heart expand and my nerves starting to kick in. My eyes struggled to capture everything I saw.
Dresses. Glitter. Women.
Lights. Jewelry. Clapping.
It felt like a movie. Everything moved around me slowly, fading in and out. All I could focus on was steadying my breaths, which had ratcheted up in pace.
“Are you ready?” Someone asked.
I nodded my head and felt my pulse quicken. Two more minutes until it was my turn to perform.
I took a deep breath and reminded myself of the time I spent practicing, how far I’d come in my confidence, any words that I had difficulty pronouncing (given that I was singing in three different languages) and what I had to lose if I gave it my all. Thinking about failure or messing up was useless at this point.
I closed my eyes and prayed.
“Poojah!”
I stepped on the stage with a mic.
Something changed in a fraction of a second. I suddenly felt like a wild cat in the shadows, ready to come out.
Like a rubber band that had been stretched to its limits, my body finally let go. It was almost like I was in a trance as I walked across the stage.
The room looked empty. I felt like I was in my bedroom singing, pretending to be a rockstar.
The music started, and I started to dance. I had not prepared this part in my routine, but I decided to improvise on spot. Luckily my heels kept up. I felt my chest expand when I sang the high notes. It was like being on the moon, free of inhibitions. I threw my hands up at the end, and suddenly I heard a roar.
I was brought back to reality. I saw nearly 300+ people clapping and some cheering my name. And at that moment, it didn’t matter what results were. It was the fact that I left a positive impact.
That’s exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life.
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I’ve learned a major lesson from performing – being unprepared is unacceptable. You cannot go on stage without practice or hope of winging it. You cannot go to an interview without studying some questions or researching the company you might be working for. Preparation is the only way you can succeed or do well in life.
I have personally seen the effects of performing without preparation and with preparation – there is a HUGE difference. I feel like I give it my all and enjoy the process when I perform because I know I’ve worked hard for it. Even if any problem arises, I will know how to navigate my way out of it because I would have practiced a lot and/or foreseen those issues ahead of time.
Preparation makes you more confident, assists with overall improvement, reduces stress and allows you to enjoy on the day of the your performance.
Me. Poojah.