Shy Girl

The Shy Girl
English Composition 101
Kimmey Wright The Shy Girl

Ever since I can remember, I was always quiet and shy. I constantly had to repeat myself because people could not hear me the first time. Even then, I seldom made eye contact with others. When I entered high school, nothing changed. Soon afterward, I disliked the way my classmates thought of me. If someone had to make an announcement in class, I was not chosen because my classmates believed I was not vocal enough. If someone threw a party, I was never invited because they thought "Shy girls" would not want to come, I was considered a dork. Most of my classmates attracted a great deal of attention. No one willingly associated with me. Not only did my classmates see me as quiet and shy, but they made me start believing it, too. Ashamed, I always stayed to myself. I wanted my words to stick with people. "I wanted them to think Natasha said." I tried participating in class more and sharing my opinions, but that did not help. Whenever I made a comment, one of two things happened: I did not get the credit for my comment, or no one ever took me seriously. I felt helpless.
The tenth grade production of Rome and Juliet changed my life. My teacher, Mrs. Russell, gave me a part in the play, and I no longer appeared quiet and shy. Although Mrs. Russell assigned the whole class a part in the play, she appointed me as, Juliet, a major role and appointed Michael who was one of the popular boys in class Romeo . Her choice surprised me and my classmates. Juliet’s character seemed so unlike mine; she had such a bold personality. My first thought was, "How is a quiet girl like me going to play the part of Juliet who is so mature and wise?" Up until to the present moment my classmates convinced me that I was simply quiet and shy. Now the play required me to show another side of myself. We began the play by reading the text out loud and becoming comfortable with the words. I had to say: "” my only love sprung from my only hate." I didn’t no nothing about love. Then came the hard part: Mrs. Russell wanted us to "be" our characters. My initial attempt was poor; I felt too self conscious. I uttered words for the sake of uttering them. I felt like I was learning how to read for the first time. After a few more tries, I heard some laughter from my classmates. This boosted my confidence, so I tried to have fun with my part. I really surprised myself. The words started to roll off my tongue as if they were mine to begin with. My words not only came from my mouth, but through body language. Even my best friend Tonya could not believe her eyes. By the time of the actual production, I felt very confident in myself.
At the night of the performance, I started sweating. I felt the hair underneath my arm pits rise. I even began forgetting my lines. I would not have been as nervous if only my grade were invited, but I had to perform in front of the entire upper school! "I thought about leaving", Instead I decided to put on my costume. I wanted to look as pretty as possible. I then apply my make up on and made my hair look as if I just step out of a salon. My hair, neatly tied to the side of my head, in a bun. I looked beautiful. After I got dressed, I grabbed a glass of water and started going over my lines in my head. I walked onto the stage, everyone was quiet. I had not yet opened my mouth when I heard the crowd whispering then chuckles. As I started to bellow my lines, the laughter grew louder and more uncontrollable. With an awkward grin and space looking like eyes I said, "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or if thou will not, be sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Caplet "How silver-sweet sounds lovers' tongues by night, like softest music attending ears!".I begin to say Romeo Lines. They laughed at everything from my tripping over my feet to my slurring my words while forgetting my lines. During my last scene, my speech and emotions was so real!" I begin to utter my words with stigma saying "Good night, good night! Parting is such a sweet sorrow that I shall say good night until it be morrow!" with a sincere look on my face that made the crowd quiet down. At the end of the performance, the audience was bursting with cheer. Then Mrs. Russell had us individually take a bow. When it was my turn to bow, the audience gave me the standing ovation. I was never more excited. As I exited from the stage, almost every classmate stopped me to say, "Wow you were the best!" At that moment I realized I could be shy, loud, and talented.
My Tenth grade performance in Romeo and Juliet made my last years in high school a success; acting and reciting the words of Juliet made my growth in confidence possible. What I once thought was an everlasting label of shyness proved removable after all. My classmates saw another side to me, and I was glad that I was not labeled as a quiet and shy girl anymore. That year I came in like a Turtle and went out like a Tiger.