earnestness and auditions

Caroline auditioned for the school musical. Yes, they do musicals in elementary school. She decided to audition, and I took her. And I was surprised by how seriously this process was organized. There was a dance room, a singing room, and then small group and solo singing room. Nevermind that everyone gets a part, they still do this like it's Broadway.

When it was her turn for the small group/solo singing audition, she and two of her classmates were brought into a small room with a long table with 3 unfamiliar grownups sitting behind it. They were asked to sing "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star." Easy peasy. Then the director asked if any of them wanted to sing a song on their own. Her friend Nolan gave a great version of a Bob Marley song that he'd rehearsed with his older brother before auditions. Peter declined to sing a solo. Caroline said that she'd like to sing something, too. We hadn't rehearsed anything (again, I didn't think it would be this formal!). So she stepped forward and began singing a song she made up on the fly.

If you believe, you can do everything!
You just have to tryyyyyyyyy.
You just have to try
With all your heart, you just have to try
And you'll like it and it will be great!

And then she curtsied.

The director totally humored her and asked, "Oh did you write that song right now, as you were singing it?"

And she said, "Well, actually, I just kind of reworked something I wrote a while ago..."