On a Saturday in the middle of a competition weekend, Mrs. Stacey comes up to me, her skeptical smile telling me she already knows what’s going on in my head. As I frantically run my solo with one AirPod in, trying to hear my music, I hear all the worried dancers before they go on stage, the music blaring so loud from the auditorium that you can feel it in your chest. It’s one of those feelings that brings you so much anxiety. You never want to go on stage and not do your best. Or disappoint yourself or your teacher. 

The first thing she says to me is, “You know you’re fine, right?” After we quickly go over my corrections in the narrow hallway, I see her confident brown eyes look back at me. “I’m going to ask you something…Who are you?” I look at her confused and say “Sarah?” she says no. “You’re Sarah Chow, you can do anything you put your mind to.” Hearing her say this made me feel like I had a purpose, and like someone really believed in me. 

Ever since then, whenever I start to feel nervous, I just tell myself “I’m Sarah Chow, no one can do what I do.” It almost always calms me down. As I stand backstage, and feel my heart race, and the warm stage lights shining down, I close my eyes and hear Mrs. Stacey repeating, 

“You are Sarah Chow. You can do this.”