When thinking back to an experience that has affected me the most, I can't help but recall the first time I performed for a crowd with my band.

As I stood in the dark, in front of 300 people, my head began to pound and my eyes began to hurt from straining to see the faces before me. No matter how many times I wiped off my hands, they were covered with sweat, making them fumble across the strings of my guitar. Then, in a flash, the spotlights were turned on and the crowd yelled. My heart raced and I knew that the night of my first concert would be exciting and memorable from beginning to end.

For me the experience had actually started hours before. With my friends, Nat and Frank, with whom I am in a band, I had been setting up. The concert was located at a festival held annually at Frank's school, Northfield Mount Hermon. Being the largest activity for the students in the spring, we were told to expect the whole school to come see us play. That fact went over and over in my mind. True, I had played in the school band in concerts for many people, but that was with a large group and I had sat in the back. Here it was just the three of us, all up front. I had had different visions of what performing would be like, but what ended up happening was a pleasant surprise.

During the first song, the crowd stood in a mixed state of confusion and excitement. I could see nothing but their dark shapes, some swaying to the beat of the bass drum, others standing still, examining our every move. The song ended with hesitant applause.

Glancing at Frank, the guitarist and singer, I read a message in his eyes. "I don't think they like us." His look pierced through my heart and I almost left the stage, yet kept going anyway. The second and third songs went the same way with the crowd looking at us like monkeys in a zoo. But then the magic started.

Our fourth song we had written for the occasion and it was as if it were the beginning of a trip that we would take with the crowd of onlookers. The funk bass and driving drums seemed to pick these people up like puppets and do with them what they pleased. The crowd danced and jumped and clapped, in and out of beat, though it was all in good fun. Our music was giving these people a reason to lose their inhibitions and for a short time, enjoy themselves. By the end of the second to last song the crowd was at our mercy. Though I was sweaty and tired, I wanted to play forever, and the crowd wanted us to make them dance forever. Finally creating a situation that I had only dreamed of, during the last song the crowd began to sing the words. But it was not just any song, it was a song we had written. This sent my heart racing and I couldn't help but smile and even laugh. The song ended and an echoing roar came over the crowd. People were laughing and joking. Everyone was happy.

The concert was to me part of a childhood dream. My friends and I were responsible for giving 300 people a good time for an evening. These people now had a part of me and my music in their soul. They sang my words and they hummed my tune, and all helped to make the dream come true. That night back in my room, I sat up all night. I saw the bodies dancing in front of me and heard their screams. Even though I may perform in college and in the future, this feeling is one I may never feel again. n