REALLY ✓

47: The Tiny Dancer

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THREE  WEEKS  LATER

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TAYA's POV:

I hadn't been this nervous since the time I stood on a stage for the play. And here we were again, standing in front of hundreds and hundreds of my family and friends on a makeshift stage in the middle of the football field.

I knocked the microphone in front of me a few times and coughed to loosen up my throat. The feedback rang and I stopped the knocking immediately.

"Teachers and faculty, family and friends, and our fellow graduating seniors, first of all, I'd like to say congratulations to us all, we've made it," I said as I took in a deep breath, staring out into the sea of faces in front of me.

"I'm standing here today as your senior class representative, and I'm supposed to give you a speech, to reflect back on our high school days and to motivate you all for the upcoming future. But let's be honest, that's a load of crap," short laughs echoed through the air and I sighed a breath of relief.

"Honestly, I don't even know how I got picked. I'm so under-qualified, and after my friend Hallee's amazing valedictorian speech, there's nothing I could say that will top that. So instead of a speech, I'm gonna read you all an essay. This is an excerpt of my college essay and it got me in somewhere, so it shouldn't be that bad. Please bear with me,"

Some more laughter and claps were heard, and I felt much more relaxed. Somewhere around the front row, I also noticed my dad and mom, smiling proudly and cheering me on.

Here goes nothing.

Opening up the folded up paper in my hand, I leaned closer to the microphone and started to speak.

"When I was five years old, my kindergarten teacher taught us songs and rhymes. But when I was six, I learned that kids could be mean and words could break my bones. When I was eleven, I learned not to be reckless in science class because you will break that glass beaker and get sent to the principal's office. When I was fourteen, I learned that it was okay getting picked last in gym class because then I got to meet a fellow last-pick that became my best friend. When I was fifteen, I learned that if I spend less time worrying about what other people think of me and focus on my studies instead, I got way more things accomplished and way less unnecessary stress about things that I couldn't control anyway. When I was sixteen, I was the only junior girl that didn't get asked to the junior prom, and boy did that suck. But it also made me appreciate the friends that I have and not to take people for granted. And when I was seventeen... I dyed my hair platinum blonde, went to my first high school party, jumped out a window, joined a theater production, fell in love, fell out of love, and fell back in love again... I learned so much the past year, maybe more than all the other years combined. But no, I wasn't talking about Calculus or Physics, because only God knows when we'll ever need to use those. For the longest time, I used to live my life like a math equation. I followed the formula, stuck to the rules, and got the results as expected. Stayed within my lane, didn't color outside the lines, and didn't get in trouble. But the problem with that was... life has so much more to offer us than 1+1=2. For a long time, I was too busy trying to be right, trying to be safe, that I forgot how to live. So if there's anything I learned throughout my high school journey is this: Don't be afraid to fall. Don't be afraid of who you are or where you come from. Don't be afraid to ask that girl to the dance. Color outside the lines. Write a play. Play that guitar. Eat a cake if you want to. There's no right or wrong answer. Because this is your story. Just make it a good one,"

Claps were heard and cheers roared through the air. I put the little paper away as I turned my head back to see all my friends sitting neatly in rows.