p.77 essay first draft TAE EUN, KWON (Wed.5-6)

Bananas in pajamas        I was a really shy little girl until I was six years old. When I had to stand in front of many people, I got so nervous that I could do nothing. For that reason, I never tried to do something in front of people. However, there was a chance for me to overcome this fear.   When I was in elementary school in Brazil, there were many events throughout the year. Parties, plays, performances and other events were held by the students. Because of my fear, I usually watched or participated in other students' events. One day, when I was in 2nd grade, there was an announcement that there would be a very big event held by the school. So every class had to prepare something for the day. Our class decided to do the 'Bananas in pajamas'. It was a TV show for children, which bananas wore pajamas and sang songs and so on. We were going to dance, wearing the costume of the bananas' along the theme song of the show. We practiced everyday with our homeroom teacher's help. Every time, I stood at the very back of the class so there would be no one watching me. I thought that I wouldn't have to face the audience if I was at the back and it wouldn't be so scary that way. So I enjoyed practicing the dance and even practiced when I was at home, very quietly in my room with my door locked, in case one of my family members will see me. Finally the d-day arrived. We dressed up into two-piece pajamas with vertical blue lines, a hat shaped like a banana covering the entire face, a white mask with the character's face and a pair of big yellow shoes. In the theater, there were so many people that I couldn't even see the end of the audience. As soon as I saw the amount of people I started to get nervous. My hands were getting cold and my stomach seemed to twist. My teacher saw that I was panicking, came to me, held my hands and said just to look at her dancing right in front of the stage, while I was standing on stage. It was finally our turn. Even though I stood at the back of my friends, I could still see the audience. The song started to play. At first my head was totally blank that I just stood there not knowing what to do.  Then I saw my teacher looking at me and trying to help me out of the situation. She danced along the music telling me to follow her motions and encouraging me with a comfortable smile. I got relieved when I turned my eyes off the audience and looked at my teacher. Then I heard people clapping and laughing joyfully along our performance. I suddenly felt good about people showing interest in our performance. So I started moving little by little and when I got used to the atmosphere, I started to enjoy the dance. After the song was over, the audience applauded and I felt very satisfied of myself that I did it.   I still remember the feeling I had after the performance. I can't forget it because it was the first time I felt some kind of satisfaction by doing something in front of people. After that, I tried to participate in many events and almost overcame the fear. I will never forget the bananas in pajamas.