I Believe by LaTasha Ackman

I believe in performing. Any performer will tell you it's one of the best feelings in the world. You can perform in almost any kind of activity. When it first comes to my mind I think of Winter Guard. Performing could also be singing, dancing, acting, and many other things. Performing allows you to be a totally different person and act in a way no one knew you could act.

I have the best time when I'm performing in Winter Guard competitions. When we get together and perform as a group, it is the most exhilarating feeling. Before the performance we always get our hair done; whether its curled or straightened or if we have a huge poof on top of our head, we go all out. We also get make up too! We become "crazy" and put on a lot of bright lipstick and colorful eye shadow. All of these activities are done to get ourselves in the performance mode.

For Winter Guard, each year we have a different show. This means we are playing a totally different role. My first year the show was "Pulling Rabbits Out Of Hats". This was a very fast paced show and we were all magicians. We had to take on that role and put all our energy there on the floor. Last year, however, the show was "Slow Me Down". This show was totally different. We had pretty flowing dresses and very graceful moves. Sometimes its hard to determine how your facial expressions should be. We all work together and figured out how to make it look natural. This year our show is a very fast pasted rain forest/ African theme. We don't have very much of the choreography yet, but I think it will be really neat.

When I'm performing there isn't anything else on my mind. Every thought that goes through my brain is all about whats next. You have to take all the energy you have in your body and put it out there for everyone to see. It can be hard to think about doing all these things at once, but a good performer will have no problem showing the audience everything. After your done, performing is a great feeling, knowing you did everything you could. The best you've ever done is a great feeling. Even if we don't get first, we still know in our heard we did an amazing job.

In conclusion, performing in front of hundreds of people may not be your favorite thing to do, but I know its mine. It's a great feeling to be able to forget about everything else in the world except you and your performance. I believe in performing.