Life is all about taking chances, something that not everybody is prepared to do.This was especially present when I auditioned for Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association (MIFA). When I was a freshman, I was very intimidated to audition for MIFA, because, well, the fact that I was just a baby at the bottom of the totem pole of the theatre department. Multiple seniors, juniors, and even sophomores told me that the chances of a freshman getting in were very slim so I shouldn’t really bother. Yet, despite my anxieties about rejection, a senior at the time, Brian Baylor, talked me into auditioning.

All through the acting audition, I was worried about making a fool of myself in front of experienced actors and completely ruining my chance of getting in at all, even in following years. Somehow I made it out alive and got a call back for a tech interview. I made the final cut and got into the company.

Needless to say I was ecstatic, even more so that words still can’t describe. And if I think about it, every single year I feel that excitement: on the first day every year, every festival, every time I walk into the auditorium during January and February. And even though it’s only for two and a half months out of the nine month school year, it was where I made some of my best memories.

Something that I realized recently is that none of that would have happened if I hadn’t taken that scary step of auditioning, even when people told me that all odds were against me. Normally, I’m not a very daring person, doing what I’m told even if I don’t like. But as the realization that a major part of my life will no longer be there, I became reminiscent and discovered some things about life. Don’t be afraid to put your idea out there, communication is key, get to know someone before you judge them, and one of the most important ones, always be willing to take risks.