May 25, 2014 - this
day may not seem significant to most but for me it was the day I said goodbye
to a large part of my life.
“The school day was
over, and I just had to make it through the next 2 hours then the hard part
would be over”, this mantra was the only thing keeping me sane. I made my way
to the performing arts center and opening the heavy black door the cloud of
anticipation hanging over everyone was clear. The 1st year members filled with
excitement, the seniors heartbroken, and everyone in between dismayed at the
thought of saying goodbye to friends. I'll spare you the details of rehearsal
and check-in, let's skip right to the good stuff: the concert. It was Disney
themed and I had the wonderful privilege of helping out back stage and jamming
out with the crew. The music was pumping, the stage lights bright and colorful, and the light, happy atmosphere put a smile on everyone`s faces ;
we were all having a blast!
At least until our
highest choir (Expressions) went on and performed their transition song in which
the new members perform with the old ones and all of the seniors exit the
stage leaving only next year`s members on stage. That's when all the heartbreak hit us full force; it felt
like the wind got knocked out of me. Soon enough the
tears spilled out of my eyes cold against the heat of my face but we only had 4 minuets to
get ourselves together before it was time for the closing number. The song was You'll be in my heart from Tarzan, if you've heard the song you can probably
imagine that emotion it kicked up for all of us in that moment. For all the
senior this was our goodbye- to each other and to the program. This was the
last time all the seniors would be singing on that stage as member of the
program.
I remember looking
around at all of my fellow choir members; their faces were blotchy and red from
crying, their arms wrapped around their nearest friend, and listening to the
sound of their shuddering voices, the song supported only by the underclassmen- realizing once more how blessed I was to have all of them
in my life. In that second the reality that high school was ending and soon I
would have to say goodbye to a program that had become my home and whose
members were like my second family. Choir wasn't just another class that I was
obligated to go to and spend 45 minutes of my life in every day. Within the
space of those white walls, filled with bleachers and class photos of past
choirs there was a safe haven, a place where I and the other members could go
to get away from all of our problems. It was a place where we were allowed to
just be ourselves, no matter how goofy, weird or nerdy everyone else thought we
were, in that choir room everyone was accepted no questions asked. The grief of
saying goodbye to such a special place created a knot in my stomach that made
going through graduation feel like a walk in the park.
May 25, 2014- this was the day I
said goodbye to my choir program, leaving behind a small piece of my heart with
it.
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