School Performance of One Sided
Lately music has been at the forefront of my daily life and I am going to enjoy it because as my junior year in high school starts to kick into gear I know that soon music will have to take the back seat to my academics and tennis schedule. After participating in the PDX songwriting challenge and posting my daily songs on social media, more and more classmates were becoming aware of a different side of me and it has lead to new opportunities to share my music.
Early Wednesday morning, about 5 minutes before Spanish class started, one of my classmates came up to me and asked if I wanted to perform one of my songs in front of the school tomorrow. At first I was hesitant since I would have less than a day to prepare a song with an already tight schedule, however after some consideration, I agreed. I thought that this would be an opportunity to share a side of me my school community does not get to see. Ultimately, I decided on “One Sided” because I felt that it truly highlighted my vulnerability and healing through music.
The next morning I woke up anxious and excited. My friend, Masato was going to accompany me onthe guitar. Yesterday we squeezed in a a few run throughs of the song during lunch break and after school. I had performed songs in front of an audience before, however none of them had held as much meaning as “One Sided” did to me so I was feeling very exposed. I couldn’t stop thinking about what was to come. After biology class came to an end, I headed down to the chapel stage to set up with Masato. Everything after that is a blur in my memory until it was finally our time to go on. I took a breath and settled down. I went up to the mic, did a short introduction, took my guitar, and played. I don’t remember too much from the actual performance other than that I left the building satisfied with my decision to take the opportunity to perform. I remember that my performance wasn’t perfect, but all of my mistakes were overshadowed by the immense joy I felt from being able to express who I truly was. I had never received so many compliments in my life, I felt seen an supported. In the end, I was thrilled that people enjoyed the song, and proud of myself for finding the courage to take the chance to perform.
