When I was little, I had a big fear of stages. I was afraid of falling off of them.

When I was little, I also had my first dance recital. That's the day I realized that the stage is my friend.

I got a little bit older, but I was still young enough to watch Disney channel. This was the era of movies filled with song and dance. My role model was Miley Cyrus, and she was the one who made me think, "I want to become an actress."

Fast forward a few years. Middle school. I had the lead role in all the school plays I was a part of. I had never done a musical. I admired them, but I didn't have the guts.

But, I had to keep in mind, "the stage is my friend."

And I realized that right away as I did my first ever musical when I was in 7th grade.

I've never smiled as big as I do when I see hundreds of faces all smiling and cheering for us performers. Never have I heard someone say, "musicals make me miserable."

The opening night of my first official musical in high school, I had a little girl come up to me, big smile on her face, asking me to sign her program.

I didn't get the chance to tell her it, but kid, if you happen to see this one day, just remember.

The stage is your friend.