Saturday, February 28, 2015

Day 1155: Girls on drugs

It was a wild first run. Costumes, lights, sound, props, moving sets.  A million questions.  Where's my jacket?  I need a tie, belt, shirt, wrap.  Which dress should I wear for this number?  I can't find my hat! My shoes are torn, broken, missing.



Anything Goes Girls!



Our sassy star!  
She lights up the stage!


Today, I've been thinking about the girls I've known and cared for over the years and what becomes of them.  In Quest, and in the musical, the girls are mostly self-directing, confident, self-assured, and optimistic.  The girls performing today danced and sang with great joy.  With fulfilling lives, promising futures, caring parents, brilliant prospects, the future is theirs.

Even in this positive setting, I worry.  One young woman was standing alone watching the performance, sad and wistful.  She didn't audition this year and now regrets it deeply.  She misses the thrill of being on stage.  Even though she's going do make up and hair, it's not the same and now she won't ever have that chance again.  I told her that high school is such a small part of life and that she will have an amazing future as a chef.  Still, she regretted her choice.

Then, there's the other side, the darker side that's devastating our young people in Chautauqua County.  I found out this morning that a girl who was my student in her sophomore and junior years died of an overdose of cocaine yesterday.  She's the second of my students to die this school year.   She was troubled as a teen and had serious family problems.  Still, I would not have imagined she'd lose her life so young.  And, she leaves behind another little girl.  What will happen to her?

There's a new form of cocaine in circulation that's been laced with a toxic substance.  Several overdoses this week have been reported including several deaths.  It's insane.


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