Nostalgia

While watching the hilarious pilot for the new show GLEE, I couldn't help but reflect on my high school show choir days.  I'd imagine that the tables have turned now (due to American Idol, High School Musical, and the internet magic of everyone-can-be-a-rockstar) but in the mid-90s it was still fairly uncool to go the show choir route.

I did try pom for a year--I think I balanced it with Act II (show choir) but our director was probably glad when I quit trying to be in every clique & submit to the fact that I was solely a "music girl" (aka music nerd).  I could quit asking to leave rehearsals early to cheer at the basketball games.  Thank God!   I'm glad I swayed that direction and shed ambiguity.  I did not prefer cheerleader skirts, I preferred gaudy sequin dresses and lipstick redder than cherry kool-aid.  I didn't want to go to keggers with the popular football players, I wanted to dance the night away at Follies after-parties with the music boys.  I didn't try to letter in track (ok, so I DO wish I'd been a leetle athletic now) but, boy, did I want to make All-State Choir.

While I'm not a musical theater gal now, the hours upon hours of learning how to sightread from hymnals, flashing jazz hands (I suspect those are forever a part of any show choir), getting stage directions, trying out for vocal parts, singing Alto in the choir, and learning how to do quick costume changes all gave me skills I carry with me to this day.  There's a sense of identity, confidence, and creativity that comes from high school show choir.  Yes, 4-part harmony to current Top-40 hits can sometimes be nothing but lame.  But, boy, did we think it was just about the best thing to ever be sung on Memorial's stage.  And we had a blast doing it.

Looking back, who knows what I would've been like without all those afterschool rehearsals and weekend productions?  I even contribute it to me being a good student in the classroom.  There was no chance I was going to let my grades slip & get kicked out of the talent show!   I am willing to bet being part of such activities really made a difference in my formative years.

Ok, so I was 'crowned' the Music Queen my senior year (or was it called Choir Queen?  I don't know, I digress), not the most sought-after title in high school.  At the time I probably thought it was silly to even have such a contest, and thought Lindy was so much cooler for getting Homecoming Queen.  But my 2 best friends & I were out to dinner the other night & chuckled when we realized something...the three of us all got 'titles' back at our high school in '96: Edmond Memorial Orchestra Queen, Homecoming Queen, and Music Queen.     

While I'm not going to go to my mother's house & dig through boxes to find my crown, put it on & procede to put on lots of mascara that I cry off wishing to turn back time to the "glory days"...I gotta say that it makes me a little sappy/happy/proud to say I was a part of the music nerds in high school.   Nerds rule!