Last night, I was inducted into my High School’s Hall of Fame, and now my gold face will live forever above the fire alarm, BOW BEFORE ME. But really, it was, and is, a huge honor. Nobody feels amazing or knows who they are in High School and I would say that this was particularly true for me. But Tabor is where I found theater, and ultimately myself. I wasn’t able to be there for the dinner / ceremony, so my parents went in my stead. I zoomed in to accept and had to give a little speech. Last month, Mt. Tabor became a statistic when a former student open fire in its hallways, killing another. So it was particularly important to me to participate even from afar, to play even a small part in restoring some sort of joy and normalcy. As my giant glitchy face loomed over a cafeteria that I couldn’t see, I realized that the award wasn’t really mine, anyways. It was for my parents. It’s parents who get their children out of bed, who ask them if they’ve done their homework, who largely keep them out of trouble, who give them breakfast and moral codes, who keep them safe. Watching MAID this week, it’s not lost on me how lucky I was, and am, to have not just one but two loving parents who were able to provide for me. So the award, and perhaps all of the awards, are really, actually, for Them.
