09 February 2011

The Lists Are UP...

I guess I'm officially a director. My show has been cast...and for the first time ever, I had to cast it. I don't have a director to answer to, or to pass off the final decisions to. It's all me. It's a weird feeling, and I hate hurting the kids who don't get the roles they want more than anything.

But when they DO get the part they want...the looks on their faces are better than anything I could ever put into words. Teenagers want to be grown ups so badly, but in the moment where they find out that they get the role they've always wanted...the child in them comes out and it's such a priceless moment. The pure joy is overwhelming and it's such an honor to get to experience that with my students. Especially when the joy is intertwined with complete shock and humility. It is humbling for me to watch my students learn and grow and achieve what they've been working towards for years. Goodness, can I say I love my job ENOUGH? I am so, so, so blessed.

I have never felt more myself...more at home and closer to God...than when I am with my students. Connecting with them, teaching them, learning from them, creating art with them. They are my joy and have taught me so much about perseverance, patience, hope, and unconditional love.

God is so good.

It is amazing to be writing this and feeling this excitement especially after the months I just went through, experiencing some of the biggest struggles of my life. We must endure those times to make these so poignant and beautiful. I love my kids. I love that they stood by me during the most difficult time of my life and loved me anyway. I love that they got to watch me grow up. Really grow up. I love that they made me laugh every day, even when all I wanted to do was cry. I love that they waited for me to get through it with patience, even though they couldn't understand. And I love that I am back. That God has brought me back to life, and that my students are still here, loving me more than ever. And ready to just experience joy together again.

It's time to make some art. These shows are going to be phenomenal...I can't wait to start. I haven't been this excited in a very, very long time.

I'm back. Thank GOD.

"There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life. Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart! and never forget, that until the day when God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words: wait and hope."
--Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

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