So yesterday was my high school's annual "Cocoa and Carol's" show, in which we put on three shows throughout the day featuring elementary and middle school show choirs with children that will soon be coming to our high school, along with performances by our own show choirs, jazz choir, and chamber choir. I must say, though I've been rather Scrooge-y this year, yesterday kind of won me over and put me in the Christmas spirit. I'm now counting down the days (14!) and embracing everything that has to do with Christmas.
Nearly everything about little kids makes me cringe and turn away. The way their hands are always sticky with some unknown substance, or the fact that they ask the question "Why?" about EVERY LITTLE THING. It's like, some things are just the way they are, OKAY?! But as much as I dislike children, seeing them embrace music the way I did when I was their age warms my heart a little bit. Not enough to make me ever want to have kids, of course, but it makes me almost respect the choice to have children.
At one of the shows, I caught a few minutes of one elementary school's performance from backstage. The kids were dressed in white sweatsuits, black shoes, with black buttons and black top hats, and colorful scarves. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that they were dressed as snowmen. Sure, that was cute and fun, but what really grabbed my attention was their energy and passion for performance at such a young age. These children were no older than nine or ten years old, and they all knew exactly how they were supposed to be portraying the song. (Okay, so it's a Christmas song, and not that difficult to send the message, but still.) In my own show choir people have trouble portraying emotions, even in our ballad. If these nine and ten year old children can do it, certainly fifteen and sixteen year olds can too.
From the time I was seven or eight years old, I've been in performing arts and have had a strong passion for music in general. Seeing those children yesterday with their snowman costumes and their cute little Christmas dances reminded me of my carefree childhood of music. I'm so thankful for the the opportunities I've had in pursuing music, and in a few years when those kids walk through the doors of Kennedy High School, I know they will have the same, if not more, opportunities. And that is why I love the arts.
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