Student Blog: Life is short.

During my sophomore year of high school, I was doing a production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. I had originally been cast as Cogsworth but then the person playing Lumiere dropped out. So, I was offered the role of Lumiere. I only had about a month and a half to learn the role and was particularly stressed to perform. Once I had learned everything, I tended to just go through the motions instead of being in the moment. This decision of mine ended up costing me my Capezio character shoes and forcing me to ensure the show went on without a hitch.

It was the second night of shows and I came onto the stage right before Be Our Guest. My high school stage was set up into levels. So, the main stage has stairs to go down to the lower stage. When I came out of the curtain speaking my first line, instead of walking down the stairs, I completely missed them and just went for the lower stage. Ultimately, this caused me to fall right on my knees in front of the entire audience. The audience gasped in unison as well as my castmates on stage. Immediately, I got right back up and the show went on. This night ended up being my best performance following my tumble down the stairs. Ever since that night, I made sure to be in the moment while performing so I never have to be in that position again.

However, that change of mindset only applied to my performances, I didn't follow it in any other life instances. When COVID-19 hit the US, this lack of change in my ways to always live in the moment truly showed through. I didn't get a chance to do the things I had wanted to do because I was so focused on the future instead of the moment I was living in. I'm sure everyone around the world was feeling the same way, that we lost so many chances or opportunities because we were stuck at home. Moreover, people of all ages were taken away suddenly due to Covid and other underlying health issues. People were unable to say goodbye or even be with them in their last moments. I hope that these losses and the experience of being in a pandemic has taught the world how precious everyday life is and can be.

The idea to live in the moment was once again shown to be important when I found out last Sunday that a close family friend had tragically died at age 24. He was a great person and did not deserve to be taken away so soon. It doesn't matter who you are, good or bad, because you never truly know what will happen in the future. You never know what life throws at us or if this life will be cut short. So, you must always live in the moment, count your blessings, and say I love you every time you can.

So, as theaters reopen and schools re-open, go for that role you've always dreamed of. Don't be afraid to get up on stage and perform your heart out. Go see the show you've always dreamed about seeing. Apply for that program in school. Do whatever it is you've always dreamed of because you never know what may happen in the next 30 seconds, 30 minutes, or 30 days.

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