“Is this real?” I asked myself. I was backstage in my dressing room, waiting for the grand finale of American Idol to start. It seemed as if it was only yesterday when my little sister dragged me to one of the auditions for the next American Idol and now here I am, one of the top two finalists of the show. As I stood there staring at my reflection, my mind drifted off to the day when it had all begun.

It was a foggy Saturday morning when my 17-year-old sister, Elizabeth, burst into my room waking me up from my sleep.

I stared groggily at her, “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

“Do you know what day it is today?” she asked me with a huge, cheeky grin on her face.

“No, what day is it?” I replied, starting to feel suspicious and wondering what she had up her sleeve.

“It’s the day of auditions for American Idol!” Elizabeth said, jumping up and down like a maniac.

“Oh no, I have already told you a hundred times. I am simply not auditioning for that show!” I groaned and rolled over to the other side hoping that Elizabeth would give up and let me go back to sleep.

No such luck however, as my little sister is very persistent when she sets her mind on something.

“Come on, sis! You’ve always said you wanted to try something new and you have a beautiful voice. Why not try this? Besides, if you do become the next American Idol, you’ll thank me,” said Elizabeth.

I couldn’t help but smile at her, “Alright, I’ll do this but only to get you off my back.”

Within an hour Elizabeth and I were driving down the streets of Florida, making our way to the audition centre. As we rounded the corner to find a parking space, I could see the participants’ queue stretching around the block and it was only 6am. Some even had sleeping bags on the road, indicating that they had spent the night there just so that they would be first in line. After 15 ruthless minutes of searching for a parking space, we finally found one just outside a cute Italian cafe. I wanted to have breakfast there before queueing up but Elizabeth dragged me away. When we joined the queue, I could see why she dragged me from the cafe; the line had gotten longer since the last time we saw it.

We stood there in the blistering November wind all huddled up in our parkas for three hours before the doors finally opened at 9am. All the participants poured in like a bunch of students rushing out of school. In the middle of the hall, there was a long row of tables consisting of at least 30 tables joined which was used for the registration of the participants. The moment I entered the hall, I was steered into the direction of the registration tables without even having to walk there myself. I was practically carried there by the hordes of people pushing their way through, fighting to get to the front of the line. I had never been in a situation as chaotic as this but Elizabeth on the other hand, had plenty of experiences like this from shopping sales and rock band concerts. Knowing this, it did not surprise me when minutes later I heard my name being called out loud and there she was, third in line.

I made my way through the crowd towards Elizabeth and when I finally got there, I had to take a second to catch my breath. The registration was easy but the waiting to be auditioned was horrible. In a hall full of potential American Idol winners, singing and warming up their voices, I suddenly found myself panicking.

“What’s wrong?” Elizabeth asked me, looking concerned after seeing my pale face.

“I...I...I didn’t practise any songs. What song am I going to sing?” I stuttered, panic seeping into my voice.

“Listen to me, you do not have to practise anything. I have heard you sing spontaneously and it is beautiful. All you have to think about is standing in front of those judges and singing with all your heart. You once told me that even if you have the wildest of dreams, if you strive to do your best, you will achieve it,” said Elizabeth, with a determination in her voice that I have never heard before.

Only two years younger than me but I could now see that she was growing into a lady. I nodded my head quietly and tried to calm my jumping nerves. An hour and a half later, my name was called into the audition room. With a good luck hug from my sister and a boost of confidence from myself, I walked into the room with a goal of singing not only to qualify for the show but also to prove to myself that dreams can indeed be achieved.

Once I finished singing the last word of my song, there was silence in the room. My mind started racing and all sorts of thoughts were rushing into my head. It was as if for the past three minutes, blood had stopped running through my veins.

“Holy, I think I speak for both Paula and Randy when I say your performance today has been the best we’ve ever had throughout the history of American Idol,” said Simon.

“I couldn’t agree more,” said Paula, smiling.

“Welcome to Vegas, Holy!” said Randy, handing me the one-way ticket to Vegas.

I stood there, feet rooted to the ground, my brains trying to comprehend what Simon, Randy and Paula had just said. When it hit me, I felt a huge wave of mixed emotions overcoming me.

“I got it!” I screamed, running out of the room to where my sister was impatiently waiting for me.

“Holy, we’re starting in five minutes,” came a knock on my dressing room door. I snapped out of my day dreaming with a start and my mind came back to the present. That was the day my sister helped me achieve what I never realised I wanted and today, I wanted it more than anything.

I had to perform eight songs that very night with various artists, moreover the top 12 singers of American Idol. That kept me very busy the whole night thus managing to take my mind off the main objective of the show that was the revelation of the next American Idol.

The moment finally came when I had to stand on stage with my other finalist, Justin Davis, and the host, Ryan Seacrest, who had a golden-coloured envelope in his hand which contained the results for the next American Idol. As the judges were giving their comments about Justin and I being the final two contestants in the competition, I found myself searching the crowd for my family but I could not find them.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of American Idol by 12 million votes is...” Ryan’s voice trailed off as he opened the envelope.

“Holy Kennedy!”

The auditorium erupted with applause and cheers. My feet were once again rooted to the ground and tears started streaming down my face. Both Ryan and Justin hugged me and soon all the top 12 singers were on stage hugging me as well. I was overwhelmed with so much joy I felt as if my chest was about to burst.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your American Idol!” said Ryan, giving me my cue to sing the first song of my career as an artist.

As I sang the song ‘The World I Know’ it was as if I saw the crowd properly for the very first time. I could see every face and every expression. The judges were standing with proud looks on their faces and then I finally spotted my family standing in the crowd, just in front of me. My mother was crying and laughing at the same time, my father was glowing with pride and joy that tonight his little girl had achieved her dreams and my sister had a simple smile on her face. A smile which only I knew what it meant, a smile that sisters share.

Standing on stage with streamers and balloons falling from the ceiling, I felt full of love, happiness and joy. I never thought that I would be standing there at that very moment, crowned as the new American Idol. My sister showed me that dreams really can be achieved if you work hard and put your head in it. That was the happiest day of my life.