unhappy mood.
(Today, I went to school, with a cloud hanging on my head)
This time was different.
I entered my English class with an empty stomach,
realizing I had to perform my poem.
I was in disbelief, like how my favorite football team lost
In the playoffs this year.
(I was in shocked, like how I realized my favorite football team
traded their star player)
So I walk to my seat, and then my heart
Starts to beat.
A minute later, my heart was racing fast, but I felt like
I couldn’t get to the finish line.
(A minute later, my heart pounded in my chest, yet I just felt like
the game was never going to be over)
My English Teacher Mrs Schiller brought up “are you
guys ready to perform your poems”?
That was when my heart dropped. Luckily, I wasn’t the first one,
Which was a good thing, even though I would still had to
go and perform my poem either way.
After a few minutes, I then realized that I was the next one to perform.
My body then starts to sweat, my throat starts to close, my face
Turns red, my body starts shaking.
(My body began to glow, my throat tightened, my face
Was blushing, my body starts vibrating)
So many things happening at once.
Then, it finally became my turn to go up, and I was still shakin’ up.
The moment Mrs Schiller says “Dominick, you’re up”
I knew my body took a screenshot
(I knew my life flashed before my eyes even blinked)
I now walk up to the front of the class, feeling like my anxiety level
is rising up all the way to my lungs, hoping that
I don’t start by saying “umm” already.
So I take a deep breath, hoping that I don’t talk in a weak voice.
But then I look, and all I see is a sea of eyes.
I did not want to speak at all. My throat started to tighten
up again, my lips started to dry, my body starts
shaking, it was just so much!!
I tell myself “just be calm, focus, and get
straight to the point.”
So I decided to give it a shot and go.
While I was speaking, I finally gained confidence in myself.
I wasn’t afraid after all. My fear suddenly faded away.
I then reached to the last line of my poem, I felt
so relieved, it felt like I won the lottery.
Then, the best feeling was that I finally finished,
the performance.
Lastly, I went back to my seat, feeling good about myself,
and not worrying about performing my poem.
--Dominick A., 9th-12th Grade