HARD REALITY

So I was the kind of person who you would call proud, maybe selfish and very full of herself. But all of that was before I was struck with a harsh reality that some things are never as easy as I think them to be.

During my high school days, I was a part of a music team that performed during ceremonies and festivals at school. We sometimes perform outside the school, and I was kept as a backup singer. With time, our fame grew, and people recognized us more, in and out of the school, and this was truly amazing.
One time, I was given the main role to lead a song, and the crowd loved it. I loved it even more because after that day, a weird thought began to creep into my head. I wondered how beautiful it'll be if people got to watch me perform without the rest of the crew. I began to feel like the crew were maybe stealing my shine, but my friend, Chloe disagreed with me.

"Jane, there's no doubt that you're a great singer and you have the most beautiful voice, but it's only better when you're with your team." She said to me.

"No, Chloe. You don't get it. With the team, I can't do what I want. They don't want to make me their leader, and they are always on about maintaining the part that I'm given when I want to explore." I argued in response.

"How can you want them to make you team leader when the other one is there, and she's doing her job well? You need to chill out, Jane." She advised.

After moments of argument, I pretended to have agreed with her. But soon, my attitude changed. I stopped attending rehearsals, and the days I'd come, I'll be late. The team got worried. They visited me at home, and asked if I was okay. I smiled and said I was fine.

"Jane, what's going on with you?" Vanessa, one of the team members asked me.

"Nothing is going on with me. I've just been dealing with a lot." I replied.

"I don't know why I feel this way, but it seems like you're tired of the team. You barely take us serious anymore." She pressed on.

"Vanessa, I'm fine." I snapped at her. She was taken aback by the tone of my voice, and I didn't apologize. "You know what, u can think what you want, but I don't owe you an explanation. I'm out of the team." I said to her and walked away.

She must've broken the news to the rest of the team, because the next day, they all came together to visit me.
"Jane, what's really going on with you? How can you say you're out of the team?" Our team leader asked me.

"Well, you guys don't need me anymore." I simply responded.

"That's not true. We need each other for our parts. What will happen to the singing competition next month if you decide to leave us?" She asked me.

I stared into a distant, lost in my own thoughts. We were supposed to be at a music concert where we would compete for the state's best singing crew. We had chosen a song that was originally written by me for the competition, and Vanessa was supposed to take the lead on that song, and we'd sing it as a team, and make it our song, when I was the brains behind it.
I came to a conclusion that I won't be singing at the concert with them, and I won't also let them compete with a song that I had written on my own. I had the perfect answer to her question.

"You guys can perform at the concert without me, but do not use my song anymore." That would've been the most horrible thing that I had ever said. They left the house, and never spoke to me again.

I rehearsed for the concert. Sang every line till I was satisfied that I could perform on stage. What I never thought of was the fact that hundreds of eyes would be staring at me, and I'd be alone on stage to sing. I never thought that I could get stage fright since I've been performing with the team for a long.

The day for the concert came, and I dressed to go. Chloe wished me well, though she made it clear that she wasn't in support of my decisions. At the concert, the first group sang and the second did as well. My team was supposed to be the last to perform, so I was called on stage to perform before them.
As the lights flashed on my face, the crowd began to clap as most of them recognized me from the many concerts that I have performed in, with my group.
Soon the crowd became calm, and they waited for me to start. I looked at the people watching me; the audience, and I couldn't open my mouth. My hands shook, and the microphone almost fell from my hands. I had rehearsed at home, and I was ready to perform, but fear tightened my chest, and it felt like I couldn't breathe. I heard a familiar voice close to me, and the joyful screams of the audience. I turned to see my team leader's hand on my shoulders.

"I'm sorry y'all, but Jenny here wanted to see your beautiful faces before we blessed you with our sound." She said, and the audience cheered. With her voice reduced to a whisper, she spoke into my ears.
"Join the rest at the back, let's get this trophy together. And you owe Chloe; she's a true friend of yours."

I stared at her in surprise. I went to the back and joined the others, and together we did the song, and won the trophy. I didn't know if I was to laugh, and rejoice with the team, or cry and cover my face in shame.

I ran outside and met Chloe. She held me in a tight embrace, and hid my face so I could cry my heart out. After I was done crying, I asked her how she managed to convince them to come to my rescue.

"Jane, you're my best friend. You may be super annoying sometimes, but I can't let you drown in shame in front of that huge crowd. You might never heal from the hurt that'll come from it. I simply told them to help you out, and prove to you that you mattered to them. I honestly didn't think they will buy the idea, but your team loves you, and you should apologize to them. You have a great talent, Jane, but it takes a lot than a few practices to be able to perform alone. It's never as easy as it may seem." Chloe said to me, and I hugged her tighter, and thanked her for saving me.

Later that night, I apologized to the team, and they forgave me. I was placed on probation, and asked to seat out and not perform twice, and after that, we were good and back together again as the best team there was.

I learned a lesson from that event. Just as all that glitters is not gold, most things don't happen as easily as we may think. It may seem like a little or no deal, but there's always more. I could perform perfectly with my team, but alone, I almost convulsed with stage fright and that was the lesson.

This image was generated using meta AI