As a lifelong lover of musicals and plays, I had always dreamed of joining my high school drama club and shining on stage. My first year in the Batesville High School Drama Club was just as I expected it to be. I joined the set crew and absolutely loved it. I was a skunk in our play, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and was beyond thrilled to have more than one line. I participated in the school musical, Oklahoma, my sophomore year and it paved the road of struggle I would soon find myself wandering.
Oklahoma was one of the first musicals I had ever watched and held a special place in my heart. When I heard our school would be performing it, I couldn't wait to audition and be a part of it- no matter how small the role. However, these feelings would quickly change after auditions. I was called back to read lines and I couldn't have been more excited. I was only a sophomore, yet they had chosen me to come back! It was a kind of excitement I'll never forget. When the cast list was posted, and I saw my name next to a role I didn't recognize, I was heartbroken. I had two lines and one solo. I told myself, "You're only a sophomore. You'll have so many other opportunities! Wait your turn." Oklahoma turned out to be a great experience and I had a blast working with so many friends and peers. Although I had only one solo, I received compliments from my family and friends who came to support me. Knowing that my effort was acknowledged by anyone at all was comforting and inspired me to try again next year. However, something that had been my absolute passion for 16 years was suddenly terrifying; I couldn't bear to keep embarrassing myself. After a few unforeseen occurrences, I became irrationally angry at anyone who had ever complimented my singing. Why would they lie to me so profusely? Why would they lead me to believe I was capable of something so obviously out of my reach? I could not fathom how I had gotten to this point. I had completely lost any desire to ever set foot on stage again. It was in this time, a supporter I never knew I had emerged from the shadows. She expressed a faith in me I had never possessed on my own and convinced me to at least audition for a solo at our dinner show. In the end, she changed my life for the better. I auditioned for a solo and felt blessed to be allowed another opportunity. I was excited to sing again, and hopeful that I wouldn't embarrass myself. The solo went extremely well and I got great feedback! A few days later, I received a message from a board member of the Tree County Players, a community theater group located in Greensburg, and she requested that I audition for the lead in their summer musical, West Side Story. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I was raised on West Side Story, and Maria had always been a dream role for me. To have someone request that I audition for that role was incredible, but I couldn't ignore all of the voices in my head. Specifically the drama director's. I kept revisiting all of the times I had tried and failed, all of the times I wanted to quit, and I imagined what could possibly go wrong. The same friend who had inspired me before came to my rescue once again. She explained how incredibly proud she was of me and how I had no choice but to audition for this show. She said, "Why would you let one director determine your talent?" I ended up landing the lead and it went better than I had ever hoped. I have so many new friends, connections, and more confidence than I could have asked for. I finally know what I am capable of and I'm so glad I didn't give up. Had I not persevered, I wouldn’t be the same person I am today. If you take anything away from this story, remember that only you know what you are capable of. To let someone else determine your talent and worth is to do yourself a disservice. About the Author: My name is Madison Smith and I am a senior at Batesville High School. I love Dr. Pepper, hammocking, and singing (of course!).
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Imagine yourself in an unfamiliar room. You know no one in the room, but they are your roommates for the next month. You have no phone, and no way to contact your mom. You are guaranteed to be working 15 hours a day for people who will never understand why you’re serving them. To most, this probably sounds like a nightmare, but for me, it wa my greatest dream finally come true! In this crazy circumstances that surrounded me, i found out more about myself, what i want for my future, and about the hope in a ministry looking to meet teenagers where they are it. This experience i’m talking about is called work crew. Work crew is when high school volunteers give up a month of their summer to go to a Young Life camp and help camp run as perfect as possible. These kids are the ones who wash your dishes, scrub your toilets, mow the lawns, and serve your food. Ever since my first time at Young Life camp, i was amazed by the beauty and perfection of camp. It truly feels like a tiny slice of heaven that we’re gifted for just 6 short days as campers. I knew i wanted to give people the same beauty. I had no idea how much this experience will fill my soul, but also how much it would force me to die to my own desires and give myself away so others can experience the joy i felt my first time. All i knew is that i wanted kids to hear the message of Jesus and i wanted to do anything i could to assist. When applications began in December, my heart was set. I knew that my destiny was to serve others. What i didn’t realize is that i waa idolizing it. I had put all my worth into an acceptance or a denial. Of course, i was waitlisted. It broke my heart. I cried and wondered why God hadn’t picked me. Hadn’t i been praying “Send me, Lord!”? I wanted to be sent so bad and i couldn’t understand why my timing wasn’t aligning with His. I begrudgingly decided that i would just have to go to camp as a camper and accept the fact that it wasn’t my time. And so, camp came. This year, we went to Timberwolf Lake, which (in my opinion) is one of the most beautiful places on earth. As a camper i got to walk directly alongside my friends hearing the gospel, but i still felt deeply envious as i watched the work crew work. I wanted so badly to be with them. Until my leader Sean came to me and said, “Do you want to stay and be on Work Crew?” I knew this was my final chance. My time to put myself on the line and say “Yes, send me, Lord!” And so i took the plunge into the unknown with only 5 days worth of clothes, toiletries that were empty, and the promise of the greatest adventure i’ve ever had. And suddenly i found myself in the situation I had you envision. I sat in a bedroom with 13 other girls who would be my roomates, no cellphone with me, and the promise of being a server, which is the only job i didn’t want. Had i made a mistake? Why had i chosen this? I must be crazy. But, as the days went on, i found myself beginning to love my surroundings. I bonded very closely with everyone on work crew. I loved the tranquil mornings spent at the coffee shops doing devotionals. But mostly, I loved the way my heart was being changed. I felt myself becoming more emotional, more sensitive, more compassionate, more loving, and most importantly, more willing to serve. It has now been a little over a month since i’ve returned home. From my experience at Timber Wolf, i learned so many things. I learned how to be a better friend, a harder worker, a better follower of Jesus, and someone who feels more willing to serve. I hope during my time at the high school this year, i can find ways to serve my peers. I hope that i can go back to Timber Wolf (or any camp, send me, Lord!) and continue to serve again before college. This experience truly gave me the best month of my entire life and i could not be more grateful. I can’t wait to present that slice of heaven to my peers, and to give them a tiny of piece of that in my actions and attitudes, even if they never step foot onto a Young Life camp. About the Author: Carrie White is a senior at Batesville High School. She enjoys reading, writing poetry, doing yoga, attending Young Life events, and listening to podcasts. She can usually be found taking a nap after school, hanging out with her friends (shout out the girlies Jennifer, Chelsie, Anna, Hanna, Meredith, and Marigrace!!!!!), and spending time with Jesus. My Cruise Experience I’ve been on 3 cruises in my lifetime, but the last one was by far the best experience. The places we traveled, were not places people get to experience every day. The other places we went to on our other cruises were Nassau, Bahamas, Key West, Florida, and a private island in the Bahamas. Don’t get me wrong, those places were also beautiful, however the destinations we experience on The Dream (our cruise ship) were by far more memorable and eye opening. Monetgo Bay, Jamaica:
Grand Cayman Islands:
I definitely recommend these countries. The experiences will last a lifetime, and one could also learn many life lessons from the various islands. About the Author: Hello my name is Abigail Westerfeld and I’m a junior. I’m the third child out of four. I have two older brothers and a little sister. My life mostly consists of sports; Volleyball, Basketball and Softball. Being a three sport rarely allows time for any other extracurricular activities, but when I am free, I love spending time with friends and family. Cruising with my friends at dusk and listening to music while getting ice cream is by far one of my favorite things EVER!!! However, family vacations have to beat that because those are times my family is all together. With my brothers being older we are rarely ever together, so those moments are cherished BIG TIME! I would like to start by telling you about my first ever high school basketball game. I was freshman just playing basketball. I have been playing basketball my whole life so playing for a high school was awesome. I remember my first game, it was against Franklin County.
The freshman jerseys were really big on us because they use to be the varsity’s old jerseys. Most of the shorts were way to big that most of us had to roll them up like 5 times. At Franklin County I think the rims were lower than 10 ft because I was almost able to dunk. I was very frustrated with the rims because no one could make anything except for the franklin county kids. It was a very close game in the late 4th quarter. Everyone was very exhausted for running up and down a lot. Coach called a time out so we can get a rest which is pretty sad because we ran a lot in practice. During the late 4th quarter no one could make anything so we lost 36-29. I believe that everyone worked hard that game but we couldn’t hit a shot. About the Author: My name is Charlie Dice. I am a junior at Batesville High School. I love playing sports and enjoy going to the movies. Let me begin by saying that at this time in my life, I was a freshman in high school and a member of the girls’ soccer team. I wasn’t close with many of the girls on the team. A couple upperclassman decided that we could all get to know each other better if we had a sleepover at someone’s house. We ended up going to a girl’s house named Gabi, who was a junior.
At this time, clowns were all the rage. Everybody was horrified of them, obviously. Once the night came, we all arrived, ate food and sang a bunch of songs. Sadly, one of the seniors had to leave early that night because they had the SAT the next morning. Once she had to leave, we all said goodbye and continued with our night. Later that night, we were all dancing. One of the freshmen at the time decided to go get a drink from the fridge. The fridge is placed next to two glass doors. As she was walking over to the fridge, she saw a clown through the window. Her immediate reaction is to scream and run. Everyone was running for the back room, and screaming. At this point, everything was total chaos. Chairs where flying everywhere and girls were climbing over each other. One thing I remember is running and when looking to my right, I saw a girl smack her head on a column in the middle of the room. My instinct was to keep running and once I got to the back room, I hid underneath the pool table thinking that the clown would never find me. As I am under the table, I see familiar shoes walk into the room. I slowly come out from under the pool table and notice the senior that had to leave early for the SAT had clown makeup on. Although we may have all made it out alive, Gabi’s basement may not have. My name is Abbey Prickel. I am a junior at Batesville High School. I enjoy playing soccer and spending time with my friends. |
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