For four years of my life, I was a part of something so much bigger than myself. I was a member of the Crimson Company Drama Club and I cherished every second I spent with them.
There was always a different atmosphere in the auditorium. No matter how bad my day was or how mad I was at one of my friends, at the moment I walked into that auditorium, everything went out the window.
Through each and every one of you, I learned stereotypes are not real. The football player could leave practice, put on tights, and run into practice to sing and dance to cheesy choreography. The quiet girl who never speaks in class? Well, she has an amazing voice and hit a high C in practice last night. The cutest boy in your grade? Well, he likes to sing just as much as I do, and he is actually really good at it. The girl who never shows emotion? Well, she might just be the most dramatic person you could ever meet.
In drama club, it never mattered how bad your day was. You still went out on that stage and performed to the best of your ability. Everyone else in that cast and crew was relying on you. If you messed up, that in turn could throw off another member of the cast and then another until everyone in both the cast and crew had to alter their performances to cater to your one tiny mess up.
I learned how to make myself heard. When I hangout with my friends at college now, I always seem like the loud one. I thank all of you for this. When you have 60 people that you have to be heard singing over, you really learn how to project your voice. And I do not think that this quality ever really goes away.
You all taught be how to accept criticism. I had to be open to your comments at all times. I would not be the person I am today without each and every one of you.
Thanks to you all, I am not afraid of failure. I’m not afraid to mess up because there is always going to be someone there to catch me.
And when we were faced with hardships, we went through them together. When one of us hurt, we all hurt. When we lost one of our own, we came together as one. Thank you for the best four years of my life. Thank you for being my backbone.
And to my drama instructors, thanks for never giving up on the freshman who looked like she was going to cry in auditions. Thanks for never giving up on a single person. Thanks for being a second family to me and thank you for continuing to open your arms