The Piano Concert

           “Next up is Aviral Agarwal,” The announcer said, struggling to say my name. 

My stomach did a few loop de loops as I took a deep breath and stood up. 

I looked around taking in everything. I could see the light brown planks on the stage, and the curtain. 

It felt like everything was in slow motion as I started to walk towards the piano. Every step that I took felt like a year had passed by.

I could feel the eyes of the crowd upon me, as if they were watching just to see if I was going to make a mistake. 

I felt so awkward and stiff as I walked. I felt a shiver go down my spine, as I got closer to the piano. 

I stared at the sleek black Yamaha piano in front of me too afraid to look at the crowd.

Still though, I dared myself to look at the crowd, and regretted it immediately. A whole new level of nervousness overcame me, as I saw how many people were in the crowd. 

I started to think about all the places that I would mess up, which was basically the entire piece. 

I can’t mess up in Carnegie Hall, I thought. I’ll disappoint everyone if I do. 

I thought about how hard I practiced, and how many hours I spent perfecting the piece. 

My mind started to wander, and each thought made me more and more nervous. 

After what felt like a century, I reached the piano.

I bowed, with sweat dripping down my forehead, and sat down on the cushioned piano stool.  I took a deep breath. I closed my eyes and listened to the piece in my mind. I rehearsed how to play the piece in my head, and thought about how it was supposed to sound, just like my teacher had told me. 

I placed my hands in the correct position, but they felt stiff and cold. I glanced at the people in the crowd, who were looking at me expectantly. I knew that I had to hurry up and start playing now. I wanted to run away out of fear. 

Here goes nothing, I forced myself to start playing. My fingers felt like they had a mind of their own, and I kind of didn’t know what I was doing. 

I felt like I was back in the practice room, with my teacher instructing me and telling me what to do. I knew exactly when to crescendo and when to diminuendo. 

Whenever I felt scared or nervous, I thought about how hard I practiced to get here. 

I kept playing, and got really into the music. Without knowing it, I started to do the movements that the professional pianists did whenever they played.

I was disrupted from my happy place, when I got to the hard part. 

I started to freak out, and almost missed the key. 

You can do this Aviral, I told myself. You have done this before. 

I began to play the hard part, focusing harder than I ever had before, the entire time thinking I can’t mess this up. 

To my surprise, I didn’t mess up at all. I couldn’t believe it. 

I felt a boost of confidence, and let go of all my nervous feelings. I felt euphoric, and started to smile. 

After some more time of playing, I got to the final part. I ended the piece with the last 4 notes, and lifted my hands off the keys. 

I took a moment to process everything that had just happened. Those 2 minutes felt like a roller coaster, and I felt relieved, but also disappointed that it had ended. 

I got up and bowed, feeling proud of myself. I walked off the stage as everyone clapped. All my hard work had paid off.