It was their school’s annual concert. Andy was nominated by his class to do a solo singing performance. Even though he had been practicing hard for months, he was still feeling nervous about the performance. Standing behind the stage curtains, he tried to stay calm.

All of a sudden, the loud clapping of the audience disrupted his thoughts. “You are next, Andy,” a backstage crew yelled. “You can do it!” Andy assured himself, trying hard to overcome his nervousness. As he sang, Andy was relieved that he was doing fine. Then, he almost forgot a line! At that instant he looked at the audience and saw his parents seated in the front row.

As they smiled at him with approval, he felt very encouraged and sang with more confidence. At the end of his performance, he was pleasantly surprised by the thunderous applause from the audience.

“All those long hours practicing my singing were worth it,” Andy smiled to himself, as he took a bow to show his appreciation.