The lights on a stage are unforgiving. With so many eyes and what feels like the weight of the world on the shoulders of one performer, it can be easy to fold. That is, unless one has the courage to push through their fear. For many, especially performers, courage is synonymous with bravery: the ability to overcome one’s fear, to get out of their comfort zone and to take action.

Without courage, there is fear and anxiety on the stage. Junior Oliver Nice, who has played trumpet since 6th grade, has dealt with this phenomenon for years, but still pushes on.

“My anxiety would take over my entire body, and I would basically not be able to play anytime it was a solo,” Nice said. “[For many years, I was] constantly trying new ways to calm myself down, [to] get in control and just trying new things.”

Nice has played the lead trumpet in a big band, which was a source of courage-crushing anxiety.  

“There’s so much weight on the lead trumpet player… There’s sometimes a conductor or the pianist [who] is the lead [performer],” Nice said.” But everyone’s listening to the trumpet. So if the trumpet messes up, everyone hears it.”

Despite the potential for blunders, Nice reminds himself of not only why he’s there, but why his audience is too.

“I just tell myself that when I’m performing, everybody wants to hear and that I’m going to perform it the best [I can],” Nice said. 

Like anyone else, Nice is susceptible to disorganization, but even when it arises, it’s possible to move on with tenacity.

“Don’t build off of a mistake,” Nice said. “Don’t let it snowball and let other mistakes happen on top of it, they will happen. You’ll have mistakes- everyone makes mistakes; just make the rest… as good as it can [be].”

5th-year music major Sonia Brecken is Drum Major for the school’s pride band. She said this role has many responsibilities that involve courage, such as speaking to band directors during competitions like Ozarko. 

“We run when bands come into the field, when they exit the field [and] when they bring in props- it’s just a perfect puzzle… everything [should] line up,” Brecken said.”That means I have to use courage to talk to some band directors, and go out of my comfort zone to make sure that I’m talking professionally- and sometimes that means upsetting a director, but making sure they’re still following protocols. Those can be hard conversations to have, but you have to use courage to have them.”

The definition of courage varies per person, but most agree that courage involves stepping out of one’s comfort zone to learn and develop as a person.

“Courage in my own life would be… forcing yourself to do something that is uncomfortable,” Brecken said. “It’s usually taking the initiative to stand up for yourself or stand up for other people around you and do something that’s kind of out of your comfort zone.”

When doubt and apprehension seep into one’s perception of self, it can slow them down and obstruct their road to personal prosperity. 

“You feel like it’s your fault, you feel discouraged, you feel down or just sad about not getting whatever it was that you were rejected from or that you failed at,” Brecken said. “So the opposite side of that would be [to] have the courage to even though you have those feelings… to [not] let them take over how you feel and operate during your day.”

These negative sentiments don’t have to be a complete roadblock, and in spite of them, it is possible to keep progressing onward.    

“Maybe this one failure [is] just a little road bump to something bigger that’s ahead,” Brecken said. “Having bigger goals outside of maybe that one little failure is something that does take courage [to] continue on and fight through having… not great feelings or discouragement.”