Seeing me up there, you’d think I was in line for an oscar. My knees were shaking like crazy, I was on the verge of tears (of course), and I could barely stand still. As the announcer listed the runner ups and as my name wasn’t on any of them, my panic/excitement grew. Finally he announced the first runner up. At the sound of the other girl’s first name, I started balling. Later people told me that my reaction was the best part of the whole show. I had won Young Miss Actress!

Though it doesn’t seem like much now, that moment changed my life. Up until then, I didn’t think I was really good at anything. But being on that stage, spotlight shining on me, I knew I had finaly found something worth pursuing. When I got off the stage (stumbling cause I wasn’t able to see with all the tears in my eyes) My mom ran up to me and gave me a huge hug. Both of us knew that California is where we belonged. At that moment, I knew my life would never be the same.