Stacey Morris’s Talent Show Conundrum

Stacey Morris was a sophomore at Mateo High School in Eastmont, California. Eastmont was a small town with numerous houses, huge front lawns, and swimming pools. Mateo High School had around two-thousand people and the school was famous for its volleyball and football program. The high school had middle-income students who came from all over Donahue county. It was a three story tall and double-doored high school with many different school programs such as chemistry, biology, English, soccer, and music. The school was a large school with many students and a large campus. The classrooms were relatively large and had big whiteboards, high tech gadgets, and spotless floors. The classrooms were very well made and could fit thirty students each. Each class was taught by one teacher for an hour. The class bell was loud and guaranteed to make anyone wake up during class. Classes were uniformly the same in terms of length. 

Stacey Morris lived in a three story house on 1830 Chestnut Boulevard and lived a happy, carefree, and busy life. She was talented at English and singing and thought it would be interesting if she could showcase her singing talent at the talent show this coming Wednesday. The talent show was in six days and Stacey knew she had only six days to practice. She was bombarded with math, science, and history homework, but would try to balance all her homework with her practicing singing. Stacey knew she had less than a week left to practice singing so she gathered her singing practice books in one stack on her desk. Stacey Morris was excited, fearful, apprehensive, yet eager to compete in the talent show. She wondered where she would place. Many people had many talents and she wasn’t sure where she stood.

Two days had gone by and it was Saturday morning. Stacey looked at the clock and gradually and with lethargy got up. She sat on her bed and wondered what she’d do for today. She got one of her singing exercise books, “Singing Fundamentals Book One”, and sang through each practice exercise once. It took her an hour but once she got through them all, she felt very accomplished and prepared so she relaxed and watched some feel good television. On the television was a sitcom involving a family, their careless dog, and their cheap and dilapidated home. It was hilarious to watch because of how their dog would ruin the family’s plans and how the home always needed repair. Stacey enjoyed watching sitcoms because of their fun, easygoing, and relaxing atmosphere. Stacey loved watching television. It was so enjoyable. 

Stacey woke up on Sunday and was stunned to see her family already dressed. They were going to church and it was going to be long, dreary, and boring, as Stacey had characterized church. Stacey found church to be dull because of the way the preacher spoke in a monotonous voice and how the churchgoers would just sit and stare at him. Church was boring, but once Stacey got through it, she felt extremely proud of herself for having endured the sermon. She got home and practiced singing again. She improved her intonation and flexibility a lot. Stacey found her Sunday to be incredibly unstable. Church and singing practice didn’t mix, she thought to herself.

Stacey went to school on Monday and Tuesday and went to math, science, history, English, music, and sports in that order. Stacey thought her school life was very dull because of how boring the classes were. She enjoyed music class because she could practice trumpet there. The other classes in her opinion were unnecessary. She came home Monday and Tuesday feeling worn out but ready to practice singing for the talent show. She was beyond excited. 

Morning came gradually with the light in her room increasing in intensity and the shades brightening up. It was Wednesday, the day of the talent show. Stacey felt excited yet slightly apprehensive. She wasn’t sure when she’d have to sing or who would go before her, but she was sure that she’d be very much surrounded by competition. Stacey was excited but also felt fearful. What if she didn’t place in the top three? She wasn’t sure what to think of her effort to win but she knew she’d give it her all. Stacey dressed, ate breakfast, and got into the car feeling scared. Today was the day of the talent show, and it would soon be obvious to everyone who the most “talented” was. She got to school, entered and found out the talent show would be held during lunch of the day. She went through her first three classes, and knew it was time. She went to the cafeteria where the talent show was being held and said, “When will I go on stage?” The talent show director said, “Fifth.” Stacey’s stomach churned as she knew that was pretty early on. She went back behind the curtains, sat down in her seat, and waited. She waited some more and finally it was her turn. She went on the stage and stepped in front of the microphone and sang, “This Little Light Of Mine”. She sang it in the key of A major and tried to focus on the singing, not the crowd staring at her. She felt queasy but sang the song beautifully. She got off stage and felt so proud of herself and went home after the rest of her classes. 

She got the results of the talent show based on the audience’s rating and was amazed to learn she got second place. Even though she had been hoping for first place, she understood the limits of her confidence, innate talent, and musical gift. She felt good, but was jealous of the first place winner. Still, she went to bed, prayed, and slept. The talent show was an amazing experience for her. She felt so good about herself. Although she didn’t win first place, she knew she gave it her all and that’s what matters. She felt wonderful about her performance.