Before 10th grade, I never really liked theater, drama or acting. I had seen a play or two, and plenty of movies, but I was too shy to actually try to be a part of any. When picking my elective classes for 10th grade, I remember my school counselor asking, “What if you joined drama? I heard that’s really fun!” I was not sure, but I figured I could change my classes if I hated it. So I chose to join drama my sophomore year, even if it was only to fill my class schedule.

I genuinely had no idea what I was doing. It was still really fun, and drama became the class that I looked forward to every day. For my junior year, I joined the drama club, too, and became secretary. I enjoyed the stuff we did even more, and I loved doing Macbeth in our second semester. I still had the same mindset about drama: cool, kind of fun to do, not that special. That year, however, I went on a field trip to Ashland, Oregon, with my classmates.

We drove for seven hours, which in and of itself would have been worth it just to miss school, then we stayed in a hotel. The next day we spent wandering around Ashland. I remember how incredibly hot it was, just enough that you really became tired of it after several hours. I enjoyed wandering with my friends, visiting places and buying stuff I probably should not have wasted my money on, “for the experience.”

Afterwards, we got to watch Macbeth, which was important to me after being a part of it for school. I do not even remember what I was expecting out of it, because I had never seen our version of the play from the audience's perspective. I was still amazed the entire time by the professional version of the play. I remember how ominous and amazing watching the witches sing at the beginning of the play was. A couple hours after Macbeth, we watched Jane Eyre in the open air theater. Even though I did not like it as much as Macbeth, it was still an amazing show that I enjoyed watching. I don’t remember as much from that show, but I remember how different the atmosphere was from just the lack of a roof in the theater alone.

That night, I stayed up late in the hotel hanging out with my friends. Even though I had seen plays before, I do not think I had the maturity or personal experience to truly appreciate them like I did Macbeth and Jane Eyre. I remember thinking about both shows the whole time I was awake after, and even on the ride home. Even though anyone would tell you this is a bad idea, I could not help but compare the plays we put on at school and the two we watched.

Watching those shows, I realized even though I always loved drama and had a great time, I was not doing enough to meet my new personal standards. I also realized that it was not just limited to drama. If there was someone better than me, in anything I enjoyed or in any of my hobbies, that meant I could do better than I was. I knew I needed to take myself more seriously, in everything that I could. If I could take myself more seriously and try harder, I could always improve at whatever I was doing. Now if I realize I can improve at something I enjoy, I try to get as close to perfection as I can. Even if I never reach it, I can always get better and closer.

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