Thursday, February 24, 2011

Bye Bye Birdie

It's been awhile so I thought that I would enter Mama Kat's Writing Workshop this week. The prompt that I chose was "describe a time when someone was proud of you".

Of course my parents were proud of me a lot but one time in particular that stands out in my mind was when I was one of the leads in a production of "Bye Bye Birdie" in 10th grade. We were living in Yangon, Myanmar at the time. For a recap of why I was overseas for school, check out this post.

Anyway, I played Rosie, Albert's Spanish singing secretary girlfriend. It was definitely a lot of work! There were daily intense rehearsals that seemed to last forever, lots of dance practices, singing lessons, many lines to memorize, dress fittings and a lot more.

The summer before my 10th grade year, back in the states my mom and I rented the movie version of "Bye Bye Birdie". We watched it together in her bedroom and she said that she could totally picture me playing Rosie and really hoped that I would get that part. When I came home from auditions and told her that I did indeed land the role of Rosie she was ecstatic, she smiled and gave me a big hug. My dad was over the moon too. From that day on, my parents bragged to anyone that would listen that their daughter was playing Rosie in "Bye Bye Birdie". They were incredibly supportive of me throughout the entire process.

On the night of the first performance, my pare
nts walked into my room while I was getting ready to head to school, with a large bouquet of flowers in their hands. They were so proud of me and I hadn't even done the show yet. I'll never forget that moment in my room for as long as I live. My mom was teary eyed even. I promised myself right then that I would do the best possible job that night and the next night up on stage playing Rosie.

Well, the show went off without a hitch. My parents were sitting in the front and center row and throughout the show, I continued to look at their radiant faces. It definitely got me to keep up my energy on stage. There are a million pictures from the show but sadly they are all in my high school scrapbook which is currently in Arizona so I don't have any of those for you to see. All I have is this one that I took a picture of. It was taken right after the show was over.
My parents were always telling me how proud they were of me. After every accomplishment, big or small, they let me know how proud they were. That's all I ever wanted, that's all I do want now, I just want to make them proud of me. I was so proud of the both of them.

8 comments:

  1. What a sweet recollection! As a parent myself, I think I underestimate how important and meaningful it is to kids to feel like their parents are proud of them. Thanks for the reminder.

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  2. I always loved being on stage. And one of the special parts of it was seeing how proud my performance made my parents. I know exactly what you mean.

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  3. What a wonderful experience to share! Glad you did so well!

    Stopping by from writer's workshop. Here's the link to mine if you get a chance to come by: http://zemeks.blogspot.com/2011/02/alternate-bowling-style-lesson-writers.html

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  4. First of all, I had no idea of where Yangon, Myanmar was. Of course they are proud to love such a beautiful and talented woman. I know all these feelings as my daughter was Sandy in Grease her senior year. Good luck with your music!

    Thanks for the follow ... right back at cha.

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  5. So sweet! This is a wonderful memory to keep with you!

    Visiting from Mama Kat's...

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  6. SOund like you had great parents!!

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  7. What a great memory. And what a great relationship with your parents.

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  8. I am sure that Mom & Dad were very proud of you - not just for your "Bye Bye Birdie" performance, but many things: your kind heart, your good nature, going to and completing college, your quest for a job in a field that you have so much passion for and many, many, many other things. xoxo

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