Blessed is the Theatre

Thursday. Wake up. Get dressed. Put in contacts. Eat breakfast. Make lunch. Brush teeth. Put on makeup. Do hair. Pack up backpack. Walk to school. Get to school. Go to locker. Off to Algebra 2 Trig. Now Basic Photography. Now Health. Now French. Finally lunch. After, go to Chem. Next off to English. Then AP Euro. School's over. Go to locker. Go to Forensics practice. Get home. Eat dinner. Fast. Get into car. Where are the car keys, Dad? Hurry, we're gonna be late.

And then we get to my favorite part of the day.

Theatre.

I love it.

My home away from home.

My second family.

T h e a t r e.

The Children's Theatre of Western Springs has been one of my favorite places on earth ever since 3rd grade. It's a place where you can go and not be judged for what you're wearing, what you like, your personality, anything. It's a place where you can make the best of friends in a short amount of time. It's a place where we get stuff done and have fun simultaneously. It's a place where you can be yourself.

I love it.

I'm apart of something called HSR-- High School Rep(ertory Company). It's just a bunch of crazy kids who like theatre. We put on plays every Fall and Spring. In fact, we just ended one, called the Borrowers, today. We go to classes every Thursday, and we have the occasional get together.

I love it.

And that makes me know for sure that everyone needs something to love in his/her life. I don't care if this is too cliché of a point to say, so I'm going to say it anyway: if we don't have something we love, then what are we living for?

It doesn't matter what/who you love; you can love more than one thing, too! You can love books, or popcorn, or coloring, or shopping at Walmart, or jumping in leaves. You can love whatever you want to. I don't care.

I love:
*Theatre
*My family
*My friends
*Food
*Speech team
*My dog
*Smiling
*Harry Potter

As my man Nicholas Sparks said in A Walk to Remember: "Love is like the wind, you can't see it, but you can feel it."

So pick something you love dearly, and hold onto it, and enjoy it as much as possible. I only have 2 more years after this one at the theatre, and whenever I think about leaving it, it makes me upset. Which I guess is good because it assures me that I'm doing the right thing in my life; I'm doing something that makes me happy. I'm apart of a group of kids who make me laugh all of the time. After all, "laughter is the best medicine".

So wherever you are in your life, stressed to the max with school and sports and homework and eating and whatnot, stop and take a minute to figure out what you really love to do. Don't do something just because. Invest yourself into something worthwhile.

And for me, theatre is worthwhile.



This is a prayer we all say before every performance, and it's something I'll never forget. Ever.

"Blessed is the theatre,
for the theatre is magic.
And blessed are those who create that magic.
That's us."

So put yourself in something you love, make a wish, and kiss it up to the sky.

Above all, break a leg.

Falling Down

Swish. 

Crunch. 

Whistle. 

Crackle. 

Dig. 

Roast. 

Ah.

Deep breath. Can you feel it? Can you hear it? Can you see it?

The leaves are dying to fall off the trees. They fall to the ground and they swish. You step on them and they crunch. The wind whistles in the background; it's talking. It's getting cold out here. Can we turn the heat up? How about a fire in the fireplace? I like the sound it makes when the wood crackles. Can we rake the leaves into piles and then dig tunnels in the piles we make? That seems like so much fun. Can we get pumpkins and roast the seeds? Let's put some salt on them, maybe some garlic, or maybe some cinnamon; not both. They'll probably taste delicious.

Can I be a kid again? Can I shop in August for my Halloween costume? Can I go to the pumpkin farm and play in the corn maze and watch pig races? Can I make the special edition Funfetti Cupcakes and decorate them with canned orange icing? Can it just be so simple?

Not particularly. An important lesson I've learned is that life can't be that simple once you get older. It's time to face that fact, sweetheart. Mommy won't be there all of the time to hug you or wipe your tears, although she is nice to have sometimes-- okay, mostly a lot of the times.

When we fall, we have to pick ourselves back up. You don't have to worry, it'll be all right. My mom tells me to choose faith over worry, so I'm going to tell you that. It's some pretty good advice, but you don't have to take it if you don't want. My feelings won't be hurt, pinky swear.

But as we get all caught up in our lives, we have to stop for a minute, take a breath, and remember what makes us happy-- like being a little kid. Jump in that pile of leaves. You know you want to. Who cares if people stare? I don't. When I jump into the leaves, I get right back up and jump again, waiting for the next obstacle, the next adventure in the saga called life.