Back to an immediate depression. It�s all part of the formula. You practice for so many weeks (months, really) to do a show that you love. All this while (the while it takes to make things perfect), you don�t really want to go to practice. We�re high schoolers, we want what we can�t have. When practicing for this show that has sword fights and powerful words, we don�t practice as much as we could. We don�t make sure our sets are as beautiful as they can be (even though they always seem to turn out really great). There are only a few who truly give all that they can. Myself...included.
�The Three Musketeers� performances were this weekend. I did not feel the usual pressure when going out on the stage. Sure, there were the nerves that I put into the wait before each show. But, for me, it was only before the show...and it was really only one time. The first real performance (in front of an audience, I mean), in front of people I know, people who didn�t pay to get in, yet people who still know how to have a good time...the high school teaser is, honestly, the most nerve racking. It was also, disappointingly, our biggest audience ever.
But I feel proud. My dad feels proud. My mom feels proud (and I have a box of chocolates to prove it). I guess, when performing in front of an audience...for a high school performance, that�s all anyone would need. And that�s the least of what everyone in �The Three Musketeers� cast got. We were all fantastic. Christian, my good friend, played the short and young King Louis. Casey was his Queen. Kelly Ms. B. was a beautiful Constance (romantic opposite of D�Artagnan), and also had a death scene that I�m sure was hard to pull off (even though she didn�t make it look hard at all). Kelly will always be a lot of fun to work with. Zak, earning the lead in the four performances. Brendan was a fantastic Cardinal Richelieu. Lucky for me, I saw a different angle than any audience member, I was up close and able to see his facial expressions...they were fantastic. He had such the sinister facial hair.
Then there was Alex, who I also saw in a different light than any of the audience members. Well, same light, different angle, but he came off as such an evil guy. And it wasn�t just in his acting. Story time...a lot has happened in the past week. We�ve been practicing non-stop at the high school to make sure this play would be a success. A week ago, we were not ready whatsoever for this. A week ago, we hadn�t even had a real dress rehearsal. A week ago, Alex (a true man...one who I have not come to talk about yet in here) and I were practicing our fight. Due to a huge mistake and one I will overlook as miscommunication...a curtain that shouldn�t have been closed...was closed. And when curtains are closed, especially during fight scenes, it only takes away from the scene. In every way, it takes away...space. And Alex took a blow to the face...the guard of my sword doing not only what Maestro had us practice...but also what he told us not to do. And Alex, in what I thought was the best performance I had ever seen, acted as if he�d been hit. What went through my head were a million things before thinking to ask if he could even see. Yeah...he�d gotten hit...he wasn�t acting. When he stood up, blood was coming out from his eye, and...it was disgusting.
But he was alright. I gave him quite the black eye, and his eye was swollen shut for a few days, but he was alright. He didn�t blame me...which I was so glad to hear, even though it was the last thing I cared for. He was alright. He could still see. I felt extremely bad, and my guilt only grew when his mom came and saw it. That was a bad day. But after that day, everything seemed better. Not because of that. But Alex was great about it...he�s pretty much the Man. The Man who took a sword guard to the face and laughed about it. And just to show you how hardcore the Man is...this is a direct quote from him: �Jeez, this ice pack is cold!�
Rachel, the true queen of drama stole the show, and everybody just has to let her. As the evil Milady De Winter, the ultimate female villain, you just have to stand back, keep a dramatic face, and let her go. She is forever impressive. Dannix played a marvelous Planchet, and a scene stealer. He was the most brilliant double role, also as the Duke of Buckingham. Sam played Porthos, the funny and hungry musketeer. Justin was Athos, the older and beat-up musketeer with stories told in drunken splendor. And I, Aramis, was the religious, yet temporary musketeer who was known as being a favorite of the women.
It was a really fun show, and despite the fact that it was 3 hours long, the audience members gave very positive reviews. I hope to act again with everyone up there. Not in a high school production, unfortunately with my being a senior in high school. I don�t have a lot of time left. But I�m sure, since the class is still going on, I�ll have other chances this year. Just nothing too major. ...this year.
~~
Snap back to reality. My psychology teacher enjoyed the play, and took it easy on us today. My homework for the night is four paragraphs on the topic of marriage and my ideal...or significant other. She gave us a lecture on Prom (which is this weekend, and I am extremely excited for it). Don�t have sex...pretty much. But it was a good lecture. Stories about sex are always interesting. Now I�ll have to tell you some form of her story...
Years back, there was this group of friends. Already, I could relate to the story. In a mixture of guys and girls, this group was so close, that the guys had been dating the girls for their entire high school careers. Except dude #1 and gal #2. They hadn�t gotten together, even though they were really close. Well, come Prom night, skip post prom (as in...rather than post-prom), the group all goes back to...lets say dude #...8�s house. Considering there are eight of them, the moral of this story has nothing to do with the story. So, no matter how many there are of them, no matter how many couples, each couple finds a bedroom inside this house. Except...dude #1...and gal #2. They don�t have a bedroom. But they don�t need a bedroom...because they�re just good friends. And who needs a bedroom anyways when you have...a hot tub. But since they couldn�t really do anything about their friends leaving them...they entertain themselves in the hot tub...with a couple bottles of champagne. This is where my relating to the story quit being something I needed to worry about. First of all, I don�t drink, and second, I have some amazing self-control. But hey, having a couple drinks and then going for a dip in the hot tub sounds...actually pretty romantic...for a married couple.
But our two characters, guy #1...and girl #2...got a little too comfortable with each other.
And then it got weird. At school...he wouldn�t talk to her. He wouldn�t look at her. And my psychology teacher noticed this in her class. While that�s not the end of the story, it certainly is another moral that sex ruins friendships. I�d say it�s understandable. My psychology teacher then proved to the class why she apologized that her lecture may make some uncomfortable...by talking about how there are few people out there that make sex feel really good. Picture this old lady (though I don�t mind old ladies...just teachers) telling her class how good sex feels when it�s with somebody you really love.
I felt like I was in kindergarten, saying �eww� to myself.
But she continued on with the story, showing by example of a story (and stories earn their embellishments) that sex can not only ruin relationships...but can ruin lives. Haha, it�s true. Girl #2 had a child before graduation.
...so maybe this was a homecoming story. But they became a part of the statistic...Homecoming, Prom, and Graduation have the highest number of high school people having sex.
~~
In class, there was a little quiz that was taken. I must have completely missed the chance to take it, but it wasn�t graded. Anyways...it was about marriage statistics, so there�s no way someone really could have gotten these right...but I�d just like to share them with you and my future self who cares to look back on this entry one day.
~Decade in one�s life of which produces the most successful marriages
~In your 20s.
~Decade in one�s life of which produces the most unsuccessful marriages
~In your teen years.
~Ideal age to get married
~28 years old.
~How many years older should one spouse be than the other...and which spouse is it?
~The spouse should be 4 years older...and this is the wife...to make the most successful marriage. So, while I should be looking at senior college girls, my fellow high school friends (of the female gender) should be looking at next year�s freshmen boys.
~How long should people show each other before marriage?
~Seven years (this doesn�t matter if these are dating years, though).
~Ideal distance to live away from a future spouse
~Within 1 mile. Pretty much saying that long-distance relationships just don�t seem to work out. ...And you gotta have easy access to the house of your future spouse.
~Does religion really matter?
~Sure does. Catholics and Jews are the most likely to have good marriages. But the couple not likely to get along very well is when one person is very religious and the other isn�t.
~Does money really matter?
~Unfortunately. The wealthier you are, the longer you will last. I guess money really does buy happiness. Don�t look too much into it, though.
~What level of education have people in most successful marriages reached?
~College graduates have the most successful marriages.
~How does education affect marriages?
~Bland question (I don�t remember the specific question), but when the female has a high education level, marriages don�t seem to last as long as others. Perhaps the guy needs to feel smarter.
~Should you live together before marriage?
~No. According to statistics, you are 3 times more likely to get divorced if you are married after living with someone. Why is this? Perhaps if you agree to live with someone without getting married, you�re not feeling like you�re really ready to commit.
~Another one where I don�t really remember the question, but does your parents being divorced affect your decision to get divorced?
~Of course is does. In fact, you are more likely to get divorced if your parents have.
~Number one reason for divorces?
~Money...unfortunately.
~~
And for homework, I have to write four paragraphs on marriage. 1. Describe your ideal person 2. Describe your marital plan 3. Name 3 things on the list of statistics that you agree with...and why 4. Name 3 things on the list you disagree with...and why.
~~
The Ideal
When it comes to the topic of marriage, I worry about myself. When it comes to the topic of �the one,� I don�t believe in it. There isn�t just one person for one person, excuse my redundancy, but you just wouldn�t be able to find them. But people get lucky. I�ve been very lucky in my life so far, having met the best people at my high school and being best friends with all of them. I don�t know that I would marry any of these people, but while it may be fun to think about, it is normal that marriage (or at least the significant other) is not something people have yet thought about. People do think about marriage itself. People dream about what they want. I believe that if you have a plan that is reachable, and you find that you can reach whatever idea of marriage you have, then go for it.
When it comes to the appearance of the person you would marry, I don�t know if there�s a perfect look. You may see someone who is very beautiful and comes off as attractive, but they may not be the nicest. The idea of a significant other cannot be matches with a face. There is such thing as lust at first site, but not love (I would hope). And while nobody wants to settle for �good enough,� that may be all you would ever need or want.
On the list of statistics, there are several ones that I agree with and maybe even knew before hearing them. First of all, I know it is important to know someone for a while before asking them to marry. Seven years, while it may be the average time a marriage will last, will produce the most successful marriage. One that I agree with, but did not know before asks whether or not it is smart to live with someone before marriage. It makes sense that it wouldn�t be the wisest decision, and it is one of those subconscious things that you shouldn�t overlook when being asked by who you think is your significant other to move in. The third statistic I have always known was true was if parents being divorced affected how their children thought of divorce. Believe it or not, people do learn a lot from their parents, and it is important that parents model their behavior for their kids.
When it comes to statistics that I don�t agree with, it is more like I just wish they weren�t true. I don�t believe money should be a big factor in taking away happiness. I don�t believe it should be a reason for divorce, but people need to do what they need to do to make money. While I don�t believe that a college education is required for a successful marriage, I do believe that it is an experience everyone should go through in their life. There is more to going through public schools than what you learn in the classrooms. Lastly, I don�t believe that the ages of each person involved in a marriage matters at all. It may depend on how old they are, how older they are than their siblings, but I don�t know that that matters in a marriage.
~~
And...that�s all for today. Again, I didn�t want to write a lot. I hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for my next entry. Prom is this weekend! I�m excited! Mary, my prom date, got herself a dress and just so happened to pick...pink. Pink may very well be, and I�m not kidding, my favorite color. It is definitely why I like flamingos. I think pink, especially hot pink, gives me a sense of paradise. Here�s why...when I was really young and my family would go to Florida every year, we would stay at this great hotel that had a pink flamingo on it.
Anyways...we may not be hot pink, but we�re definitely gonna be...hot. My tie is striped with two different shades of pink (since I couldn�t get the exact color on Mary�s dress) and a white pinstripe.
I gotta see what other�s think of it, though. I hope people (at least Mary) likes it. But other than the tie...I�m all black.
That�s how men match their clothes...they just go all black.
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