Taking Control

Chapter Six - Hold Every Memory As You Go

My last 2 years of primary school were some of the best of my entire life, which I know sounds ridiculous because I was 9, 10, and 11 years old, but they truly were. We went on a school trip to London towards the start of Year 5 and I had never been more excited. I loved London, I had been a few times since I was 6 and I was just completely and utterly in love with it and the whole vibe, it was incredible! We looked around the National History Museum which was actually so interesting, as well as going on the London Eye which I was terrified about but I wasn't really left with much of a choice so I was forced to conquer my fear and I actually really enjoyed it. By far the best part for me was seeing the Lion King on the West End because I had always been a huge Lion King fan and seeing it on the West End was just an incredible experience that I hope I can have again some day because it was truly awesome. We finished off the trip by going to Wembley Stadium and we got the whole VIP treatment. The stadium was empty apart from our class and they took us to the press conference room where we could imitate a celebrity, the football players changing rooms, and we even got to sit in the royal family section! I felt so special and I was sure that I would be back here one day performing. I was also picked for this company called Young Journalist Academy which travelled to different schools across the UK and found young journalists. I remember we would have a meeting with Bill, one of the editors, every single Thursday. I was one of about 8 people in my class picked for it and I loved every second of it. My interest in pop culture was finally being put to use and I was coming out with article after article, one of them even spawning the most comments in the history of the Young Journalist Academy. I interviewed some semi-famous people including Alistair Humphreys and Sir Brian Cox which was interesting although every word they said was just going in one ear and out of the other. I was actually so good at writing articles that I was given the official title of the Young Journalist Academy's Music Columnist across the whole country. I even won a mug for my hardwork and dedication! I spent 2 years doing this and I really enjoyed every second of it. During the summer holidays between Year 6 and Year 7 Bill emailed me to let me know that I could continue working for them as I approached secondary school and gave me the opportunity to interview Alfie Deyes. As much as I enjoyed it, I declined the offer because I wanted to start over with a blank slate for secondary school - sorry Alfie! In Year 5 I was also elected as one of the 2 school councillers in my class. I was so happy because we each had to write a manifesto and I couldn't believe mine was picked. Every so often we were to attend meetings with the rest of the school councillers and raise important issues, also taking notes from our classmates opinions. It was great fun and we even got to visit the City of Lincoln's council offices for a day, talking to all the important people there who I had absolutely no idea what they did but I knew it must be something important. I auditioned for the school talent show again doing a sketch as Cat Valentine and also singing and dancing - I brought props with me and everything! I did get through the first audition but sadly I didn't get through the second and final round I needed to get through before the main talent show. I got to perform with choir though so it was all good. Year 6 was one of the best years I ever had, everyone just got so close and we were also old enough to start playing out together after school which I think just made pretty much the whole class closer. We worked so hard studying for our SATS and we all absolutely smashed it, it was just a great bonding experience. When we finished our SATS in May 2015 we were rewarded with basically the last 2 months of school filled with treats and goodies. We climbed a mountain together which was hard work, went to Wales which wasn't exactly my cup of tea given all the rock climbing and caves and waterfalls, went to the local park, ate ice cream, watched the solar eclipse, and prepared for the school production. The production this year was called Robin & The Sheerwood Hoodies and I was determined to earn a main part in the show this year. My friend Gabbi got the lead role of Robin Hood and I was so proud of her. There were barely any female parts in the show so most of the girls had male roles. I played Dancing Dave who was one of the merry men, a main role at last! I had to wear these vibrant, neon clothes and my catchphrase was "shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, jazz hands!" so it was just the perfect part for me and it was a role I really took on board and stuck my teeth into. Dancing Dave was a character I loved playing and I think one of the first times I was ever on stage for a full hour because I was in almost every scene. I remember when I first walked on stage on opening night I was absolutely terrified but as soon as I said a few lines and saw the audience I was in my absolute element and I couldn't wait to get back on stage. Thank you Dancing Dave, you are forever embeded deep inside of me (I don't know why I'm talking about this like it was a West End show and not a primary school production.) Leaving primary school was heartbreaking, we sang See You Again by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth and everyone was in floods of tears apart from me. I was devestated but I've never been one to cry publicly and as much as I wanted to I refrained for whatever reason. We had all grown so close and I didn't want to say goodbye and I do remember sitting on that stage during the leavers assembly feeling sick to my stomach. This was all I had known since I was 4 years old and now I was moving on to bigger things. I wasn't excited for secondary school in the slightest, I loved my primary school and I didn't want to leave. After we walked out of the classroom on the last day we all gathered around the front of the playground to take some pictures and I feel emotional writing this right now which is so funny because I haven't really given this day a thought in years but now that I'm writing about it, all of the emotions are coming back to me. I discovered my passion for performing at that school, I gained the confidence and the skills to do so, I made the bestest friends and some of them I am still friends with to this day. All good things must come to an end however but a bunch of us did spend a huge chunk of that summer hanging out together and just staying 11 years old for as long as we could.