I’m not someone to get school anxiety. Several of my nearest and dearest have “Sunday Scaries” pretty much every Sunday, but that’s not my demeanor.
The one exception is the first rehearsal of the year.* For as long as I can remember, I enter that day absolutely convince that I’ve completely forgotten how to run a rehearsal. I can’t shake it all day. It’s a day on an anxiety roller coaster.
Every single year (so far) I’ve come home from that first rehearsal saying, “You won’t believe it! I still know how to do this!” And then I’m in the clear for a year.
What am I doing this year to avoid that anxiety roller coaster? I’m hoping that just telling myself this story in advance will help. I know that’s something I do for the people in my life with Sunday anxiety – I remind them of past Mondays when the anxiety was unfounded. In addition, I like to remind them of the things they like about the experience, distract them from their anxiety, and encourage them to prepare themselves early.
So the day I have my first rehearsal next week, you’ll find me revisiting past years’s favorite memories, playing a board game, and making my most elaborate rehearsal plan of the year.
Here’s hoping it helps!
* There is one other notable exception. For at least a decade after I graduated from WMU, I had a “Gold Company Audition Nightmare” every August. They eventually stopped.