Shocked, astonished, fortunate, cheerful. All those emotions and more swirling in your chest when you heard your name come after ”The Oscar for best leading actress goes to…”.

It was surreal, standing on that stage and seeing your own inspirations in the audience, cheering for you. Could you remember what you said in your speech? Absolutely not. Your hearing was muffled from the overwhelming emotions and bright stage lights. You just hope you thanked everyone accordingly.

Your hands shook as you gripped onto the award, knuckles turning white from the intensity. The cold metal bringing you down to earth. A permanent reminder that this is real.

You walked backstage, immediately throwing yourself onto the first person you saw. Mike’s arms circled your waist, hugging you tight to the point where it would be asphyxiating. Maybe it was, you’re not really sure, you can’t focus on much right now and your breathing was already unsteady anyway.

He buried himself into the crook of your neck muttering words that you couldn’t quite catch. His embrace managing to bring you back down somewhat. Enough to catch onto the words he was saying. “You did it, you actually did it.” he said. You felt it in the way he held you, he was proud.