Standing over the shattered pieces of my showpiece I slowly look down and see ropes and sails in a heap on the floor before me. As I pick up the pieces I glance to my hands and see my roosters cracked face looking up at me in sorrow, having crowed his last sunrise. Suddenly I wake up in my bed, and look at my hands to see myself clutching nothing but a pillow. Another stressed out dream leads to my early wake up call. I roll over and check my alarm clock to see its two o'clock.

If you're like me, and you stress over the big showpiece day, this story is nothing new to you. Having the looming finish line approaching makes me simply too anxious. Nonetheless, I'm here to reassure you that freaking out like that will get you no where. I hope that future classes will read this post and understand the importance of preparation. The pressure of all the week's work going into one final product that could potentially break or not fit together shouldn't be all that large. Hopefully, at the end of the day you will look back on that anxiety and say, "I was worried about what exactly?!" 

Behind my wooden bench, hunched over my showpiece, I can feel the subtle burn of tired muscles spread from my triceps to my forearms. Simply holding pieces of my showpiece-to be in place while gluing is strenuous on its own. The sun is slowly creeping into the sky as morning becomes midday. I turn to put on the finishing pieces of my showpiece and take a step back to absorb my work in its finality. Finally its all done and over with. In reflection I wish I could've done some things differently, but the most important thing to do is learn from your mistakes right? As long as you stay clear-headed and focused, keep an eye on your pieces and your dough, you should be fine. Another point would be to review your images fairly often, and keep the ideas fresh in your mind, this way when the time comes and you want to create something one way, it will end up that way. Practicing a certain technique at home can help too, for instance braiding to make rope, or trying to find a certain marbleization pattern. 

When all is said and done, if you do your fair share of research, and keep your ideas in mind you shouldn't have to be stressed out to the point of losing sleep. I'm sure even the most critically acclaimed chefs still worry about important events or menus they're designing, but by preparing adequately you won't ever lose a wink!