Catherine, a bright and vivacious seven-year old girl, could barely breathe. The big moment that she had thought about since she was five years old was finally arriving. She was now just days away from her first piano recital. The wait was almost OVER!

Catherine enjoyed her piano lessons A LOT! It was always exciting seeing her teacher and her fellow students at the music school. A few months ago, her teacher explained that on the last Sunday of January, there would be a PERFORMANCE!

Catherine had practiced every single day, and she worked, and worked, and WORKED!! She played her twinkles, and she played her scales, and she even played "Mary had a Little Lamb." Catherine progressed quickly, and it seemed that the concert date was coming up quite fast...maybe too fast!

She had a true love for being in the spotlight. However, when she went to sleep that night, she thought about the recital, and everything about it started to frighten her. "What if they don't like me, or what if I have a blackout, or what if...", and that was all her sleepy head could bear to think about. Zzzz....

The next morning, Catherine told her mom that she was absolutely frightened about playing in front of a large crowd. Her mom smiled at her and said, "Catherine, if you work hard, all you will feel when you sit down on that bench is joy." JOY! Catherine started to like the idea of a concert recital again, and so she went off to school more determined than ever to make EVERY practice count!

When Catherine came home, she dropped her backpack onto the kitchen table and retrieved her piano book. She had a WHOLE hour to practice, and this time, she wasn't going to be nervous! Even though the concert was just two days away, she was determined to be the BEST that she could be.

As Catherine walked into the living room, she tried to imagine that her audience was sitting in front of her at that very moment! Calmly sitting down at the piano, she tried to think that she was fearless and completely free of nerves. As the first note sounded, she felt a level of calmness that had not been with her for months leading up to the performance.

In the evening, it occurred to her that she needed to pick out an outfit! What to wear is one of the largest questions for any performer. Should she wear her hot pink dress with ruffles, or should she wear her dark purple dress with flowers, or her red and black polka-dot dress...choices, and choices, but no decision!

There was only one day left! Catherine's mom took her to get her fingernails and her toenails done. She had them painted a fun, girly, but yet so elegant red color. The red nail-polish EVEN had a little glitter in it, and she couldn't wait to see how her nails would sparkle on stage with the BRIGHT LIGHTS! She now knew what dress she was going to wear.

As the evening before her big day approached, Catherine was once again filled with the JITTERS! She had a tank full of excited butterflies! Mom made her favorite dinner, mac-and-cheese, but she could barely eat. "It takes a lot of courage to be a performer!", she thought to herself. However, she sat tall and convinced herself to eat like a warrior!

When they were all in the car driving to the recital hall, Catherine couldn't help but feel her heart racing. Her red and black polka- dot dress suited her boogie piece perfectly, and Catherine was now excited about seeing all of her family and many friends show up!

As she got out of the car, she smoothed her dress, fluffed up her hair, adjusted the straps of her little dressy black shoes, and tightly clutched her music. She stood up straight and tall, said a little prayer, and walked confidently alongside her mom and dad. The moment would be here in just an hour, and Catherine could feel her fingers gripping her sheet music just ever the more tightly.

Catherine's dad opened the huge door to the recital hall, and the shiny floor and sparkling windows made Catherine realize that this was her moment to make an impression on each and every person in the room. Even if she was just seven, she still could make an impact on her audience!

Entering the practice room, she saw all of the familiar faces of her fellow student-friends. She immediately went over to the piano to warm-up her hands. She started with C major, played D, and made it all of the way to B major! It was finally time to go BACKSTAGE; the moment was minutes away!