The short answer to the query "What would you miss the most from your town if it were torn down?" is that it has been already torn down. I'm referring to my high school. Now, I admit that school wasn't always my favorite place to be during the day. However, after school - there was nowhere else I'd rather be. Call me a drama geek, band nerd, chorus dork or whatever! That's me! I was involved with Drama Club, Show Choir, Color Guard, Chorus, Band and was just the resident theatre geek.I spent hours upon hours after school, many nights not getting home before 10pm.

 Eight years ago, I was just starting my senior year. It seems like just yesterday. The auditorium was like my second home. I remember the hideous orange walls, and the clashing (and very chipped) robin's egg blue enamel painted chairs. Without thinking, I can tell you that the capacity for the auditorium is 857, if you don't count the 13 broken seats or the missing row on the house right side at the front. I can't begin to count the hours I spent sitting astride a ladder hand sewing long neglected curtains & legs left fragile by age, and damaged by disrespectful students. Painting over obscenities written on the wall, so that that the preschool children who used it for their Winter show, and the little kids from the local dance school would not have to see it. I felt an obligation to give back. It was never asked of me, but I did it out of love. Nobody had taken the time to fix or program our archaic lighting system, so many an afternoon was spent in the dark seeing which switch did what, painstakingly noting every thing. I'd not had any training in that department, save for operating a spotlight once or twice. I taught myself. I learned that room inside and out. I could answer any questions about what the room was capable of without hesitation - I was the master of my domain.

The days and weeks spent rehearsing for Show Choir competitions. Night after night, rehearsing on stage, working through kinks, perfecting our show. We were very dedicated, some more than others. I do not pretend to be the best musician or dancer, but I worked my hardest to be good enough. Show Choir, was in some ways, the baby of the Seniors. The group had been started our Freshman year. The hard work was all worth it when we won the Platinum award at a choral competition, and Gold at one of the hardest competitions of the year. Ironically, it was the final competition. We wept, the other seniors and I. All of our hard work had finally paid off.

Between rehearsals, I'd curl up in a corner and do my homework. The quiet of my personal sanctuary helped me to concentrate better than I would at home. There were no real distractions, as everyone else had the same idea. It was helpful, really, having others around to ask for help.

Within the drama club, there were cliques. My friends and I were not a part of them, we preferred to hang out with our new director and learn as much from her as we could. Invaluable lessons, we all learned - not just from her, but from ourselves and our dedication. With virtually no budget, we managed to pull off a fairly decent production my senior year. We performed "Into The Woods" - a fairly complex show, with elements we added to bring younger children from the school district into it. All and all, I believe we amazed ourselves. The nights of that show, were some of the proudest moments of my life. It does leave a little hurt in my heart that I cannot return to that beloved place, and revisit these memories.

Tags: high school, cafemom theme, memories

Add A Comment