I'm a creature of habit. If I find something that I like and it seems to work for me, I'm going to stick with it. If it ain't broke, right?

When I acted in high school, I was never in an 11 o'clock number. Sophomore year I got to be in the big opening number, but then after that, my character was mellowed out for the rest of the show in a singing and dancing standpoint. Junior year I was the bad guy so, again, beginning of the show number, middle of the show number to show how evil I really was, then nothing.

Senior year though, oh man did we put on an 11 o'clock number for the audience to remember. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was definitely my favorite musical that I ever performed in.

And let me tell you, the lead in this show, it's every guy's dream role, I can't explain why it just is. I was absolutely devastated when I didn't get it. But in the end, I was able to go out on the Shrewsbury High School stage and perform my heart out with my brothers one last time. I wouldn't change a thing.

Every time before this scene, I awaited our change on stage right. My job was to go out grab the chair from the table, bring it off stage and then quickly get back on stage before the lights came up, all while staying in character.

But before this all happened, I said one thing to each of my boys before we went out. The routine was simple, I waited till I knew they were all out on the wing, then I walked in and went down one by one. I gave them the bro hug, and when I was there next to them I said three words, "Leave no doubt."

Now, if you watched Remember the Titans, you know how iconic that line is. But it got the message across to my guys, especially the freshman and sophomores. As a senior, you have to set a good example for them and also let them know that it's going to be ok.

Right before we went out, however, I had to do my handshake with my friend Will. We made this handshake at the beginning of the year honestly as a joke, but then we realized, "oh wait this is pretty cool" and did it almost every time we saw each other. It was small enough not to be over the top but big enough for people to know we were doing our own thing.

But on the last night, Will did something different. I got into the position that I usually would take before we did the handshake, and I noticed Will wasn't in his. I straightened my back and whispered "Will, handshake?" He just shook his head and held his arms out, obviously looking for a hug.

This kinda freaked me out because each show before had gone really well and we did the handshake before each one. I'm a very superstitious person so I really wanted to do the handshake, but I gave him a hug.

While we were in the hug he whispers, "Thank you man" And I realized that it was going to be the last time I was going to perform this number with some of my best friends. I didn't even have time to get emotional because it was already time for the scene change.

Now we're on stage, and luckily I didn't have any big lines, because my mind is all over the place, I can't think straight. I'm trying to savor every moment. I get the chance to look out at the audience, and can see two things; 1) every seat filled, and 2) my parents, sitting in the third row, smiling their usual smiles.

And I'm going to be honest, seeing my dad and mom made me relax, a lot. They've been there for me through everything. So I told myself I could get through these last 20 minutes.

I almost did.

The number was incredible, the best one by far. Our energy was incredible, it fed the audience, they doubled it, and we gave them more energy right back.

In our final pose, I ended shaking hands with Will, and seeing him smiling at me made me start to lose it. He gave me this head nod that said "You did it man" and I look at him like "Why'd you have to do that now I'm definitely gonna lose it" I had already started to break down a little while we were dancing, but I held it together until that final pose. When that final pose hit the last string that was hanging on broke. As soon as the lights went out, the tears started to roll.

When we all got backstage we just started hugging the first person we saw. We knew it was over but we didn't want it to be. I couldn't be too emotional though, because I had to go out and say my finals lines ever. I pulled myself together miraculously and walked on stage for the final time.

I took one look into the upper level of the stage to my friend Sophia, and she gave me this look that said, "you can do this" and one way or another, I pushed my last words out and passed it onto one of my best friends Ben, so he could do the same.

Our blocking was that I give Ben a quick handshake and pat his right arm with my left hand and then proceed to the back where I stood for the remainder of the scene. Not this time though. Our handshake was longer than usual because we exchanged looks before we moved on. My look said to him "good luck man that was the hardest thing I ever had to do" and he gave one back that said "I can't do it" and I shot one back that said, "yes you can". Now that all happened in about 4 seconds, which just goes to show how special the relationship that Ben and I had was.

When I went back to my spot I usually just turned around right away to watch the rest of the scene, but I had to take a moment. I faced the back of the stage and put my head down to get the last tears out, then looked up saw the underclassmen behind me looking right at me and knew I had to finish the job, so I turned around and did my best to look un-phased (I saw pictures afterwards, I did a terrible job by the way).

When we ended the show in our final pose after the finale, I took a long hard look at the audience, knowing it would be my last time being in a moment like this. I saw smiling faces, people clapping and whistling, and I savored every single second of the final applause.

When we went out for bows, I was a mess. I just couldn't stop the tears and I didn't try to stop them. They streamed down my face but I was smiling the whole time. I had so much love for my entire cast and crew that I couldn't help but smile.

We got our senior roses, and we all put our arms around each other to enjoy this last moment that we would all be together.

When I got backstage I went to the guys dressing room and screamed a certain word that started with the letter F as loud as I could (sorry mom I couldn't help it). I instantly got hugs from all the guys in the rooms before I proceeded to take my costume off. As I'm doing this I'm still in tears, and by the time I'm in my street clothes, I'm just sitting on the floor sobbing. Ben and I shared one last embrace in the dressing room before going out to see our folks and we both said the same thing, "I love you man"

Because it's about family, and that's what's so special about it.