“School of Education, please proceed to the backstage” an announcer said.

It was almost time to

perform. Multi-colored wigs were moving rapidly around the room, gathering their things, preparing
themselves for the exciting ordeal to come.

“Louie, are you alright?” my friend asked me. She looked at me sympathetically, smiling, as if she knew
how I was feeling.

“I’m fine,” I replied, “I’m just nervous! It’s just, this is the first time I joined a dancing competition and
I’m nervous as heck!” I laughed weakly, trying to mask my anxiety. My heart sounded like a bass drum, it
thumped so loudly and reverberated all over my body.

“Hey, you’ll do great. Just think that everyone in the crowd is naked, then you won’t be nervous!” she
laughed jovially.

“I don’t think so, but thanks anyway” I laughed along with her. Our choreographer caught our attention
and told us all to huddle together. This would be my last year in college, which is why I joined this
competition. I figured that since I was a potato for the first three years of my college life, it was time to
change that.

We walked towards the backstage, each step an agonizing, but strangely exciting movement. The bass
drum in me grew stronger, its beat in time with the music being played as the hosts talked about how
exciting this night would become. I was excited and scared to see our competition.

Each cluster had different themes for this year’s dance competition. The Accountancy Cluster was
assigned vanity, the Business and Management Cluster were Pride, and The School of Engineering and
Architecture were lust. Our cluster, The School of Education was assigned gluttony. Looking at the
others’ costumes, I had to admit that ours stood out the most – especially me, which wasn’t good for my
heart.

My face was adorned with glitters – my eyebrows a shimmering, emerald green, my lips a lustrous
gradient of pink and red, and my lashes – which stood out the most – were elongated with each lash
colored blue, green, red, and white. Not to mention my royal blue nose line. I was an eye-catcher, that
much was sure.

“Ladies and gentleman, please welcome The School of Education!” the emcee said enthusiastically. This
was it! It was time for trial for The School of Education. My heart beat rapidly as we arrived onstage. My
cue was that as soon as the backdrops were in place, I descend down the stairs to the left side of the
stage. The thumping grew stronger, matching each step I made descending the stage.

Each minute ticked by and I couldn’t help but think of mistakes I could make. What if I miss my cue?
What if I tripped and fell? What if I wasn’t able to fulfill the expectations of my choreographer, my
friends, and the expectations I set myself? All these thoughts floated menacingly in head.
“Wohoo!” I heard the crowd cheer and yell as soon as the first chorus kicked in. Then, suddenly I felt
heat from my stomach, spread throughout my body. Each yell the crowd gave eradicated my fear, each
cheer alleviated my anxiety, and by the time it was my turn, I was smiling and ready to give it my all.

The change in tempo with the music was my cue. A step here, a step there, smiling and making faces at
the crowd – in tempo with the music. Suddenly, the audience was upside down and upright again. Loud
cheers erupted as I realized I just successfully did a cartwheel across the stage! Hah!

My energy started to diminish after that cartwheel, but it was the last dance sequence! And finally, I
retreated behind the backdrop. I felt giddy and emotional because I had just performed in front of the
college community and 25,000 more watching through the livestream! And finally, I was done – I could
say “I have no more regrets and I had lived fully my college life!”