Musicals

            It was freshman year at Caledonia High, and there was something different with my friends: they were tired.  The whole year they were alive and excited, but something about January dropped their energy like Eminem drops rhymes.  At first I thought it was the cold winter season, or perhaps being the new semester.  When I finally asked a buddy why everyone seemed so tired, she responded with a kind of annoyed tone, “It’s the musical.”  Yet, if they were so tired, there had to be a reason that they continued it year after year.  So the next year, I started my adventure in the art of theatre.

            At first, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to do the musicals.  It sounded dull, and practicing nearly every day after school for hours didn’t help persuade me either.  And yes, there had to be enjoyment in it if everyone liked being in it.  What finally got me to say yes was when a friend on the golf team said,
“Well at least it gives you something to do in the winter before the golf season.”  Yes, because those four months of the year were the longest wait I have ever experienced.  Joining the musical would keep me from thinking about golfing and possibly help me make some new friends.  Without another thought, I placed my name on the signup sheet next to my best friend’s, and waited for the time to come.  It was nerve-racking to sing and act in front of the directors, even though one was my choir director.  Even worse was the wait.  Would I make it?  Would I get a part or will it be another embarrassment?  There was no way to prepare myself for the list to come out, so I simply waited.

            It was excitement, and relief, that I felt when I saw my name on the cast list.  Sure, I had a very small role, but it was enough for my first year.  As the entire cast practiced more, and memorized lines, songs, dances, and scenes, the energy level was becoming harder and harder to maintain.  Most nights we were there until seven or later, and after dinner and homework, there just wasn’t time to relax.  Pressure was building as I realized that everything was needed to be memorized soon; the show was only a few weeks away.  I had so much more to learn, and before I knew it there we only four practices left.  I’ve seen it on television: I forget my line or mess up in a dance, and there’s no turning back.  My body was drained when I got home, but I couldn’t sleep because I had to work on my songs and dances.  This is why everyone was so tired during the winter.

            I can never forget the feeling of when the curtain rose for the first time.  My first real show, and there was so much excitement in me.  Oddly enough, I wasn’t nervous when I was on stage.  Perhaps it was because I was focused so much on the next line or next cue, that I couldn’t focus on the audience.  The show was fun, and so was the after-show party.  Finally, I was able to sleep.  A whole week of relaxing and regaining my energy.  This is what we musical people call PMS (Post Musical Syndrome).  And before I knew it, here came the reason I joined the musical in the first place.  The golf season had arrived already.  This whole time in the musical I had no time to think about golf.  Then I knew that I was sticking with the musicals.

            That first show was entitled “Once Upon a Mattress” and the next year I had a slightly larger role in “West Side Story”.  This past year, though, offered my first big role.  I was Elisha J. Whitney in “Anything Goes” and that took the most out of me.  I had almost too many lines along with dances and songs, but it was worth it.  Since I began my musical adventure I have made plenty of new friends and it has expanded my personality.  I am more outgoing and learned how to be a leader to the younger actors.  It was a great experience, and I wish everybody knew what it felt like to be part of a show.  Though tiring, the musicals contained some of the best memories of my high school.

Getting Under My Skin

            Someone who bites his or her nails.  People who decide not to use their blinker when they make a right turn.  That girl who writes, “I’m so stressed, don’t know what to do…” on their Facebook wall, just waiting for someone to ask what is wrong.  We all have our pet peeves, and though small, they can drive even a priest insane.  I have quite a few myself, and I am sure that I also attain someone else’s pet peeve. 

            Perhaps my biggest pet peeve is not only because it bugs me, but because it is disrespectful.  We’ve all been there: you are talking to someone about something that happened.  You aren’t two sentences into it when the other person says, “Well that’s kindda like when…”  They continue to ramble on about their story.  Upon returning to yours, they respond,  “Yeah…but this one time…” and the process repeats itself.  Some people naturally speak a one-way conversation.  Perhaps they just like to hear themselves talk, or perhaps they have nobody else that will listen.  Wonder why?  It would be respectful to at least listen to most of the conversation and respond.  When one story is done, then is would be appropriate to tell yours.  I’ve learned to avoid these people, and have discontinued even talking to them online.  If they don’t have the respect to not interrupt, then I am not willing to talk at all.

            Although I don’t consider myself a grammar freak, I do get annoyed by some things that I hear and read.  For example, “I seen you the other day” or “Me and my brother went to the baseball game” or writing, “Noone can beat us”.  There is a reason that a language exists, and that is to be able to communicate accurately and efficiently with people.  Americans are butchering the English language, and I don’t see what is so hard about speaking and writing the right way.  I would agree that when English was created, it wasn’t necessary to have different ways of writing similar things.  Having to say “My sister and I” for a subject and “My sister and me” for an object” is a little ridiculous.  None the less, there is only one English language, and we should all follow it.

            Another thing that really gets under my skin is when I go to a nice restaurant, am trying to enjoy my meal, and out of nowhere, “I DON’T WANT TO!”  A child screams because of the lack of parenting skills.  To make it worse, not only does the child continue to scream, the parents do not take the child out of the restaurant.  They either start fighting back (verbally of course) or ignore the child.  I am not sure if it is the easy access to violent and poor-exampled television shows that the children watch, or that parents find it too easy to say, “I don’t know why my child screams, that’s not how I raised him.”  If someone wants to go to a restaurant and enjoy themselves, then I am willing to bet that they don’t want to hear a child screaming, unless it is Jack the Ripper with his date.  Even so, it is the parents’ responsibility to raise their children with respect and manors, and screaming in public does not fall under either category.

            They say it’s the little things in life that that you cherish, but little things are also the things that drive people crazy.  It’s only human nature to notice the negative things in life, which is why everyone has pet peeves.  Pet peeves are hard to ignore, and there’s nothing I can do about that.

American Society: Corrupt Values

America is changing in so many ways, and although many things like technology have changed for the better, there are many things that should not be changing.  Children are watching shows that express vulgar ideas and words, drugs are taking over several streets in urban cities, and family time seizes to exist in many households.  America is losing is sense of morale, and it seems nearly impossible to slow down the damage that is being done.

                Back when my parents were kids, television was like a dream come true.  It was such a breakthrough; the concept of seeing live action from somewhere else in the world was remarkable.  Then came something even better, multiple channels!  As television grew, families could gather around and watch it together.  Even until the 80’s and 90’s television provided instant news, entertainment, and most importantly, family time.  Recently though, television has been providing shows that not only are inappropriate, but down right wrong.  “The Maury Show” and “Desperate Housewives” are enabling content that I would be embarrassed to be associated with.  Even worse, the show “Family Guy” is a cartoon, grabbing children’s attention.  It is teaching corrupt models to younger and younger generations.  These shows degrade people’s minds and attitudes, and they also suggest that drugs and alcohol are a way of life.

                While I have accepted the fact that alcohol and cigarettes will not be prohibited any time soon, both are getting out of hand.  Cigarettes are becoming available to younger generations so easily, just as alcohol is, and marijuana is no exception.  Every weekend parties are thrown that give out alcohol to teens.  This behavior seems less immoral to teens, parents, and even police officers; I know of officers that go to parties just to scare the underage drinkers knowing that they will not give tickets.  Marijuana punishments are being lessened, and many people believe that it should be legalized.  If someone really needs alcohol and drugs to have a good time, then does that mean they lack enough personality to have fun around?  I would say that a real friend doesn’t need drugs and alcohol to be fun.  Unfortunately, society has changed, and it says that this is all okay; apparently there is nothing wrong with damaging the body, increasing the number of drunk drivers our roads, and taking vital brain cells away (because who needs to be smart when you can be stoned?).

                Perhaps the biggest change in society today is the amount of time a family spends together.  Where once families spent time every day with each other, now there are business meetings, parties, and Facebook to attend to.  Family dinners are replaced with takeout orders that everyone eats whenever they feel like.  Weekends are no longer spent with each other, but are used for parties and going to the bar.  Togetherness is something that every family needs because it leads to success and happiness in the future.

                Although society needs to change back into what it used to be, I fear that time has done its damage.  Society will continue to fall apart in its values, and its wakeup call may never come.  I intend to live the way I was raised, with integrity.  I will teach it to my children, and will not allow them to fall into the immoral ways of today’s society.  It disgusts me to think that America is living this way, and I am waiting for this all to change, one day.