DURING the entirety of third quarter, People of the Pacific (aka POP) has been preparing for a competition called “Who Got Roots.” The competition recently took place on March 30, and I was able to participate with my classmates and friends in going for the gold. It was an exhausting yet extremely fun experience, and I’m glad I was able to be a part of it.

Prior to competing, all three of the POP classes had been practicing since the start of the third quarter. Every class was learning a dance or a song, and then continuously going over them until we could perfect it. We had learned dances from the islands of Tonga, the Cook Islands, and Samoa. During the week of the competition, we had after-school practice from 2:30 p.m. to roughly around 5:00 p.m. The Friday before the competition practice ran from 2:30 p.m. to 7:10 p.m., and the promo team finished their practice around 9:30 p.m.

The day of the competition finally came, and we had been told to show up at 9:30 a.m. to check in. I arrived four minutes early and walked into the building to meet with my friends. Due to a few delays, we got checked in around 11:00 a.m., and went up to our area designated for Granger.

When we got up there, we settled in quickly, putting our stuff out and waiting for instructions. We hung out for a little while talking and snacking and just enjoying each other’s company. Around 1:00 p.m., we were told to get ready in our outfits for our Tongan section, so we did just that. We helped each other with slicking hair back, finding hair pieces, and putting on lipstick.

We then went to practice some of our dances in the Tongan section of our show, just going over lines and transitions. Then we moved to the boys’ side of our designated area to go over that section with everyone. We practiced the entire show a few times then took a break around 3:00 p.m. before going back to our side and relaxing for a bit. We had been told that lunch would be at 3:00 p.m., but there were a few delays that prevented that from happening. So, we ended up eating snacks that we had brought just in case we were here for longer than intended (spoiler: we were).

We repeated this process for the next 3-4 hours, running through our show, tweaking a few things, then resting a bit before doing it again. At one point we went down to the gym to practice, then went back upstairs to our area. Our time slot for our performance was supposed to be from 3:15-5:30 p.m., however with the way things were going we weren’t going to perform at that time.

We finally went backstage at 7:40 p.m. eagerly waiting for our performance. We were all so tired from the long day, yet we were still excited to perform. We got set up on our sides of the stage and waited for our time to go on stage.

Then we performed, and it was honestly so much fun. It was a bit nerve wracking to be in front of so many people, but I enjoyed it. The lights were bright, the crowd was loud, and I was alongside all my friends. Hearing the cheers in the crowd and the people screaming for Granger was amazing. We danced our best and had fun doing it. My family came to me after the show and complemented our dancing, saying that we did great and that they so were proud of us.

I can’t remember the time we ended our performance, but it was around 9:20 p.m. We got off the stage and headed straight to change or find family, and many of us left soon after we were finished. Everyone was exhausted from the 12 hours we spent at the competition, and just wanted to go home and sleep.

I stayed and waited for the results, and the wait felt like forever. After sitting in the audience for about an hour (it felt like five), they announced awards and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners of the competition. We didn’t win many awards; however, we did end up as the 3rd place winner of the overall competition. I was pleasantly surprised that we placed, and I think everyone was, too. My family and I left the venue around 10:45 p.m. and went home to rest after the long and absolutely exhausting day.

Overall, I had fun and had a good experience, though it was very tiring and long. It was definitely a fun experience, and I don’t regret doing it.  I enjoyed competing alongside my friends and classmates and I looked forward to doing even better next year!