My mother recognized that my lack of self-confidence was holding me back more than my inability to memorize lines from a Shakespearean play.

A certainly didn't expect to get a part in the play when I tried out, and was more than a little surprised to be given the role of Friar Lawrence (my mother, interestingly, seemed proud but not at all surprised). it's a relatively small part in the play in terms of lines, though the Friar plays a pivotal role in the arc of the narrative. In order to avoid appearing foolish on stage in front of scores of my classmates and their parents, I worked on my lines as hard as I could muster, bringing to the surface reserves of linguistic strength that I didn't even know I'd had. The play finally came and went and was produced without any major problems -- aside from the fact...
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