When I first headed off to college, people would always tell me to enjoy my time there and take advantage of all the opportunities it offers because college is the time to branch out and try new things. When it comes to classes, there are tons of options that can satisfy almost everyone’s interests. So this past semester, I decided to broaden my horizons and tried something completely out of the ordinary: I took an acting class.

Those close to me know that I’m a bit of a drama queen. It’s just a part of my personality. But something that I absolutely hate is getting up in front of a crowd. My palms get sweaty, I stutter, I fiddle with my hands. Like most people, public speaking isn’t my thing. So why did I enroll in an acting class? I have a couple reasons. 1.) I needed something to fulfill my art credit for my gen eds, and people said the class was fun and easy and 2.) I decided to take a leap of faith and suck it up so I could get over my fears. And the experience I went through this past semester was one that I do not regret.

For a solid month or so, we didn’t do anything in that class. All we did was do yoga and play games, something totally out of the ordinary for school. I’m sure all the games we played had a purpose to help with articulation of lines or to calm our nerves while performing, but it didn’t feel that way. Every Monday and Wednesday, I looked forward for laying on the floor and focusing on my breathing because it was as close to napping in a class that I would get. But then came the real stuff. Within the span of a couple weeks, I was assigned and scene and partner, and was expected to know at least half of my lines in a few weeks. I didn’t think that I’d have to be off script since this was a basic acting class, and the pressure just kept building.

I always used to think that acting was something that anyone could do, that all you needed was a pretty face and the ability to fake some tears. But after one semester, I realized that that is not the case. There is so much that goes into acting. Think about it: every little thing that you do (emphasis on certain words, posture, facial expression, small things you don’t normally have to put thought into) is being watched and has to align with your character and their objective.Something as simple as walking to the other side of a room can be fairly complicated. Your body is not your own in this case. How you interpret the script and how you think and feel about a character is completely irrelevant; it’s all about being someone else.

So for my final scene, I was assigned the character Izzy, an erratic and irrational hot head from David Lindsay-Abaire’s play Rabbit Hole. Memorizing fifteen pages of lines was already a lot to deal with, but getting it on its feet was so much harder. Trying to think of your next line while moving around onstage and trying to control every movement and expression your body has is extremely overwhelming, and I am amazed by the capabilities that professional actors have. Throughout the semester, I went to a couple of plays on campus and I learned to appreciate all the hard work they put into a performance because acting is so mentally, physically, and emotionally draining. It’s one of those things that you don’t understand until you experience it yourself.

The semester drew to a close, as did our final scene performances. At this point in the school year, I was just done and wanted nothing more than for the next few weeks leading up to break to fly by. But somehow, I found it in me to give it my all. Even though I terribly screwed up during dress rehearsal (by totally blanking on my lines and freezing in front of the whole class), I pushed through. The nerves were as strong as ever and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I would forget to breathe and mess up. When onstage, it’s very easy to go down a dangerous road where you are conscious of the fact that you’re in front of a crowd and that you have lines to deliver. Thinking about those things can make you forget everything because the fear can freeze you right in your tracks. So while performing, I felt myself approaching that road. I was aware of the fact that my long monologue was coming up and that my teacher was scribbling notes in her notebook while observing. But then I remembered that this wasn’t about me. It was about Izzy and it was about my scene partner. So after getting stuck at that fork in the road, I just did what I had spent so many hours practicing. And then it was all over, and a wave of relief washed over me.

On the first day of class, I wondered if I made the right choice. I don’t enjoy being on the spot so taking an acting class didn’t seem very logical. But looking back at how much I’ve learned and how I can fake cry

so much better than before, I’ve come to the conclusion that I did. So while it’s true that my dreams of being on Grey’s Anatomy or winning as many Oscars as Meryl Streep may not come true, I went through a perspective changing experience this semester, and that is what I came to college to do. Moral of the story, don’t be afraid to branch out and try new things and gain different world views. As Wally Lamb once said, “Take a chance. That’s how you grow.”