A wave of heat comes over me as thousands of watts of colored light stream across my makeup-caked face. I cannot feel it. Hundreds of voices dull into silence. I cannot hear them. The music starts to play and all I can feel is the blood coursing through my veins with the rhythm of the music. Before I know it I'm singing my heart out winning over an audience of five hundred at a time, completely detached from reality until I've sung the last word and there is a sudden burst of roaring applause from the crowd. I live for this feeling. For me, this is the feeling of passion. This is the feeling of musical theater.

One summer, I discovered a program in New York called the Broadway Training Center of Westchester. It looked incredible. A six week program in the city that completely embodies what often seems like an intangible dream: Broadway. I remember mentioning the program to my mom in passing, not thinking very much of it because I knew we couldn't afford it and simply because I was scared of the idea. Why would I want to start over a thousand miles away from everything and everyone that I love for a summer camp? This notion was very, very, wrong; and, thank goodness, I decided to apply to the camp after all. About a month later, I received news that I was accepted into the program and was being offered a work scholarship so that my mom could afford to send me there.

I cried for nearly two hours the day I left for New York, and once again after my first day in the program, but little did i know, this would turn into the experience of a lifetime for me. I was astonished at how quickly I assimilated into the environment and how much I was enjoying myself. I met some of the best and truest friends I have ever had and directors that, to this day, continue to inspire me to push myself to reach my full potential in every aspect of my life.

That summer I returned home a changed person. I was confident, I was passionate, I had gained a new understanding for the value of friendship, I had found myself as a person and performer, and most importantly, I learned to never let a thing like fear stop me from jumping at any opportunity that comes my way. As I always say, if the world is my stage, then the show must go on.