I have loved theater for as long as I can remember. I have loved watching plays and movies since I was a child. But I suppose the funny thing about that is I was never actually in a play until my sophomore year of high school. My dad tried to get me to audition for “Annie” with him when I was a kid – a decision I regret to this day. The only real reason I joined the play in high school was on threat of death from the director and several friends – so I had to audition, really.

I immediately fell in love with it. The thrill of the lights on your face. The thrill of the audience laughing. The joy when they clapped and whistled when you bowed. As someone who is not outgoing, this was a release that was welcome.

When I left high school, there weren’t many friends I took with me. But the people I still talk to are those that I met in the theater. It’s kind of funny what theater does to a person – it’s like it literally binds you to the people you work with. You become a family – and really, it’s hard not to. You spend hour upon hour with one another, day after day. How are you supposed to remain strangers in an atmosphere like that?

While I’ve always known that theater is binding, it has never been more evident than this year. As a fourth year teacher and theater director, I have come to learn what it really means to have a true, family theater bond.

I recently informed my students that I would not be returning to my position come next school year. I’m not sure who cried harder – them, or me. I knew it would be incredibly emotional – but I was not prepared for the immense turmoil my announcement would cause.

Some will probably say that I’m feeling sentimental. And it’s true – I certainly am feeling that way. But I can not begin to explain to you what my theater students mean to me. We have been through so many things together. They put up with a first time director. They put up with a first time director of a musical. They put up with a baby who came a month early and forced a new director into the works. They put up with late nights and emotional scenes and a sometimes very disorganized director.

The bond I have my with theater students is none like any other I have experienced. I know, in my heart, that these are the students I will speak with long after I have left the school building. These are the students I want to keep in touch with and see how far they take their talents. These are the students who will hold a special place in my heart for the rest of my life.

And you know what? It was theater that made all that possible.