Brookdale At Monroe was the third location where I played. With my newfound confidence, I knew this would be my best performance yet. At the same time, my dad and I changed our standard procedure: now we would pass out some pieces of paper describing the Om Parikh Foundation and their goal, while I set up. When I was ready, I looked at the audience and surprisingly, they all looked at me, interested in what I would do next. When I started to play, I noticed I wasn't as tense as I usually was. Somehow, I felt that I was a professional at performing and all my fears vanished immediately.

When I looked at my audience, I noticed 2-3 people were closing their eyes and leaning back into their chairs. I knew that I was finally on the right track. However, not everything was perfect because the top part of my stand broke off the second time! After I was done playing, I could tell by the facial expressions that my audience was content and happy. I then concluded with a speech, which I felt was very down-to-earth - thanking them for giving me this opportunity. While packing up, a woman asked me "how long I've been playing" (this was the first 1-1 interaction I've ever had with an audience member). I left with a sense of pride and accomplishment as I not only spread awareness on childhood cancer, but I also left my audience smiling.