Nervousness

In the car as I got nearer to my destination I got increasingly nervous. My stomach felt like it was in a million knots, my head was spinning, my heart was beating a mile a minute, my breathing increased, i got clammy hands, all I could think about was what I was about to do and I truthfully thought I would puke. These all increased as I got closer and closer to where I was going.

These are all symptoms that most people get when they get nervous. Different things make people nervous, some people have stage fright and when forced to perform on stage or speak publicly they have all those symptoms and try their hardest to get out of it. Some people are nervous of heights, so if they have to go in a plane they are freaking out the whole flight. There are some people who get nervous of everyday things that we find normal, like uncleanliness, sharp objects, sometimes something as random as ducks can really terrify people.

As I entered the doors of the building I truly thought I would faint. I did not know how I could possibly do this and I wanted nothing more than to just go home and hide in my room. Why did I ever want to do this?! As I approached the stage my hands were shaking and my legs were moving awkwardly. When I stepped into the centre of the runway and saw everyone looking at me I could've fainted, but as I started to walk down my confidence got higher. I realized I knew what I was doing and could actually do this. There was nothing to be afraid of, what did I have to lose? I was no longer nervous!

Most of the nervousness people feel is before actually doing whatever it is they are afraid of, it is mainly anxiety. To help get rid of anxiety or nervousness some tricks are: to drink water before you go on stage, it helps clear your body and mind. Trace a figure 8 on your hand, it has a soothing sensation. Be well prepared, if you know what you are doing you will be more confident because you will be less likely to mess up. You can also set something fun up for afterwards so you'll have something to look forward to and something else to think about. Once you are actually there, speaking in front of that crowd or in the airplane soaring over the world, you start to feel better. You soon realize there is nothing to be afraid of! You can do this, what have you really got to lose? After you have finished your speech or show you think to yourself: "How could I have ever been afraid of that? It was so easy! I could definitely do that any day."

There, I was done. That wasn't so bad! What was I so afraid of? I was so silly! Now everyones eyes were off me and were judging another girl, who was also as nervous as I was. As I watched her I could see her gradually get more confident and self-assured as she walked down the runway. As she got off the runway she looked relieved. All of us were going through the same thing. First we were excited, then as the event approached we got nervous, very nervous. As each of us stepped onto the runway and could feel the burning of the crowds eyes all of us could have fainted, or puked... or both. Then as we walked down the runway we got more confident! As each of us stepped off the stage and it was over we were all very much relieved.

Everyone gets nervous. Every single person you know has been nervous in their life. Even the people who you think are extremely confident have been nervous, they've just learned to overcome it. Although, you can't completely overcome nervousness, there will always be a small part of you that will be a bit scared, you just learn to ignore it. Even the biggest celebrities get nervous before they perform. Most performers have rituals they do before they go on stage to help relax them and get themselves ready.

Now everyone was waiting for the results, you could feel the tension in the air. Some of the anxiety was back, but we all knew there was nothing else we could do, it was done. Finally, the results were ready. "Fiona Burnett," the announcer called. A wide smile slowly spread on my face as I came into realization. This was it, this was why I went through all that anxiety. It was truly worth it.

So, it's natural to be nervous, but it's never as bad as you think it will be. When you're nervous just try those tricks that I mentioned before and tell yourself that it won't be bad and think about the up sides of what you're doing. You won't be able to stop yourself from being nervous ever, but don't worry about that. The older you get and the more things that you do that scare you the more experience you would have.

-Fiona XOX

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