The first day of sixth grade blew in with the Autumn wind

 

It brought me running

 

Crashing headfirst into a new place

 

A new beginning

 

I crouched on the back row of the risers

 

Nervous and shy

 

Full of the wiry energy of eleven years old

 

She bounced into the room with a smile

 

And the knot in my stomach relaxed ever so slightly

 

The first thing I learned in her class

 

Was that you have to let the music settle

 

Let it stir and shimmer in the air

 

Let it float to the ground

 

Drink in the split second of silence

 

Before the spell is broken by earsplitting applause

 

She was the first to tell me that I had a beautiful voice

 

The first to make me crack open my shell

 

And leave everything hidden inside on the stage

 

I discovered the warmth of the spotlight

 

Shining on my face

 

The thrill of my voice filling the room

 

Letting the music obliterate everything else

 

I discovered that melodies

 

Are stronger than any medicine

 

And that when the world feels a little too big

 

And the room a little too small

 

The music

 

Will carry me away