Tracy, Tracy, Tracy. Where do I even start? I suppose I should "begin at the beginning and go on till I come to the end: then stop."
I remember when this lady came in to help with the play, and I thought, "great, there's another one." But I figured it wouldn't be much of a problem because I was gonna do this little part and then be done with this stupid class. So she tells us to read through the script and find a part to sign up for. I looked for the shortest and most unimportant part and signed up for it. But this lady, she tells me I'm gonna do a different part. I get a whole scene between me and another person. And I'm supposed to sit there and talk for half the time. qwsfjhsdfg what? I don't think so. That just made me dislike this class even more.
But as time went on, it got less terrible. I actually started to like this whole drama thing. I rehearsed my lines every day in the shower. I started to get excited for the play. Ew. What was happening to me? This crazy lady walked up in our class room and made me interested in this "being on stage" nonsense. But then came the opening night. And I was beyond nervous. I realllllly didn't wanna go out there in front of people and say stuff. Public speaking was not my forte. But once I actually stepped on the stage I realized I couldn't really see anyone anyway. The lights were so bright. And all I had to do was look at Sam and talk to her for most of the time. And then I did it and it was fine. And I actually enjoyed it. I looked forward to out next play. And ever since then I have always looked forward to the next play we would do. And I was pissed that I couldn't be in Drama again the next year. But then they had Drama II and I was dying to be in it. Somehow I ended up really enjoying it. And it was because of this crazy lady that made me do a part I really didn't wanna do. I learned to try something to see if I like it before saying, "yeah, I definitely don't like that." I've learned a lot from her. And I know we may disagree on some things and have fun discussions about whatever but that doesn't change the fact that she has taught me (and many others) so much. She's really done so much for this community and the students, parents, and many random people living in this town appreciate everything she has done. But for some reason the ridiculous school doesn't appreciate you. It's probably because they're all greedy and want more money for themselves and honestly care less what the students and community wants, which is completely unacceptable. Your talents are wasted every day that you're not creating something, or painting a stage, or directing a play, or using your imagination to promote and share creativity with other people. You've really been an inspiration and a great teacher to every one of your students. And you've been more than a teacher. You've been a friend. From bringing people cake on their birthday to spending extra time hanging around the auditorium waiting for kids to get picked up by their parents. From spending out of pocket money on the plays to make them as good as they should be to always offering personal assistance to any person who might need it. You've really changed so much in this community and made it much better than I've ever seen it. Your contributions and effect on this community will not soon be forgotten.
And we can't forget Mr. Hall, of course. Also spending long hours of his free time working on making the sets, lights, and sounds, and making all of our plays what they were. Sitting in the art room while us teenagers babbled on about random nonsense. Always mentioning the "proverbial wrist slap." And most importantly impacting the lives of tons of people by introducing art into their lives as a creative medium alongside Tracy. You both have improved that school more than you know, and for that we all appreciate and thank you.
