People get so caught up in telling you to avoid burnout as a teenager in their last year of school and to focus on academics so as not to stretch yourself too thin that everyone neglects the immense lack of accomplishment you feel when you go from an incredibly extracurricular schedule to a rigorously academic one. As you may have noticed, in comparison to last year, my feed has thinned out a little, as with the end of DP 1 came the end of my ability to jump head-first into every extracurricular event planned at OSC. The academic stress and sheer demand from my subjects (why did past Aura want to be a doctor? HL Biology and Chemistry is just self-inflicted pain!) has resulted in me having practically no time to lend to extracurricular and community participation as I typically would. Then, like a beacon of light in my grim, textbook-buried life, came the winter music gala.
In my grade 10 music class with Mr Kim, we were asked to make planning sheets for a performance where we learnt about stage blocking and direction. Ever since this assignment, Mr Kim has suggested I become involved in stage direction or backstage help in one way or another, as he felt I had a knack for it. This year, when I learned there was a gala, and Mr Kim had suggested I would enjoy helping out in the past (his words were, “You get to boss people around”), I was drawn in immediately. Between summatives and a short informal hallway conversation later, I found myself part of the music gala, helping out with stage direction along with Jed and Anneli.
Though I was happy to be back in the world of extracurricular activities, a world I have known far too well, I will not understate the stress accompanying these activities. The week of the gala happened to be the most stressful, full of submissions and assessments, with the end of the semester fast approaching. Not to mention, I had never worked backstage for a musical event, and though I am familiar with planning an event, this was all new to me, which meant I had only one rehearsal the day before the night of the gala to learn the ropes of stage management. Alongside the other stage managers and many panicked conversations with Mr Lakshita regarding mic numbers, we banded together to figure out the sequence of mics, the transitions between performances, the ushering of performers, and the overall smoothness of the show.
Before I knew it, we were T-minus 2 minutes to opening the doors for the audience, and now it was just a matter of executing what we knew. Being backstage exercised my ability to stay calm when stressors arise, whether it be missing mics, disappearing performers, or pesky mic stands, but also to appreciate the level of work that is involved in putting together an event that is aimed at celebrating talent. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process of learning what it is like to be backstage, and it was great to be involved in something beyond the classroom for the first time in a long time. Being in DP 2, I can feel myself falling into a rigid pattern of eat, sleep, study, repeat (go look at my latest Activity post, and you’ll see just what I mean), but it is because of the organisation of events like the gala that help remind me that life exists beyond just a classroom. I, more than anyone, understand the value of being an involved member of the community and for that reason, I am very grateful for the timing of the gala as it served as a reminder to me of everything I strongly believe in in terms of life as a student.
