Prologue: Me and Band
For the past (almost) three years, I have played band with my twin sister. We are fraternal twins, as I am male. I decided to play the clarinet because she decided to do it. It was a great, and it still is, an enjoying experience for me.

Chapter 1: Band Concerts
I have always looked forward to band concerts I play in. In fact, I have one tomorrow! Usually in the few weeks before concerts, (almost) all we would do was practice our band pieces. I am usually so enthusiastic about it that my twin says I am playing it too loud, because I am. I would try to play quieter, but I would always still be playing too loud.

Chapter 2: Self-Doubts
I get frustrated whenever I have practiced a piece and I still can't nail it. Eventually, and this doesn't happen everyday, I would just give up for the day and just pack up. My band director would ask me to keep playing because "I am doing so well", but it doesn't phase me. This self-doubt would start from when it happens, and would end near the end of the next period. I can be bubbly and excited in one moment, and then just give up in the next.

Chapter 3: Tomorrow's Band Concert
I have a band concert tomorrow. When I woke up this morning, I was glad that this year is not a leap year because if it was, then my concert would be in two days. When I started feeling doubt in band, I thought that instead of trying to play quieter and failing, I should just not play at all. Fast forward to right now, I am still feeling down.

Epilogue: AMA / After the Concert
Q: What are you playing?
A: Celtic Air and Dance, Electricity, Eqyptique

I did a bell-choir-thing for a school pagent in 4th grade. My class was told that each of the bells was on loan from some church and together they were worth more than midsize van. Needless to say, we were spooked. That and the fact that I naturally have anxiety kept me panicked the whole semester, but when opening night came I managed to channel all that fear into determination and I played almost perfectly, I missed one note (out of the 6-7 I believe) that wasn't even noticeable. At the end of the day, I played better when it mattered than I had at any practice. Moral of the story: don't worry about messing up, the audience doesn't have sheet music to grade you by, just keep going like nothing's wrong and people will applaud you for it. Out of curiosity, what are you playing?