It was my first ever major production; I was starring in my church’s youth production of “Mary Poppins”. It was the first time I've ever auditioned and I was over the moon that I got in but being my first time, I was relegated to the “Stars” ensemble. Now the Stars ensemble was a mighty fine ensemble and honestly, I was just happy to be there but it mainly consisted of younger kids ages seven to eleven. I was fifteen. So it felt a little awkward hanging out with kids that couldn’t even spell “awkward”, but what got me was that all of the teens in the show were in the “Sweeps” ensemble. So I was an island surrounded by guppies. But then I realized something, with the Sweeps dealing with intricate numbers like “Step in Time” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” while we were doing “Anything can Happen” and “Jolly Holiday”, the focus on us was not nearly as much as on them and therefore a vacuum was forming in terms of a leading figure. So I decided that I was going to be the leader (to be honest, it was not so much of a choice but a natural flow into the position). I became the guide to these kids; the one telling them to hush when it was time to hush, the one they spoke to when they were bored, I was the one that they came to when they were confused on certain aspects. If I didn't have the answer for them, I would go to the adults running the show on their behalf. I became their leader. I became their person. It was by far one of the most fulfilling moments of my life; all of these kids looking to me, the oldest and the tallest, gave me purpose. The feeling rivaled that of me being in the show, doing what I love to do. Now and again, I look back at that moment and beam. Yes, I've had many moments like that since but I would never forget the time I became Mary Poppins.