I was really bored with my old journal so this journal is going to be one huge rant that probably none of you care about but it means the world to me.

It was about this time last year that Spring Awakening came into my life. My voice coach recommended I sing on of the songs from this show and I immediately fell in love. This was a modern day show with the old roots still left in.

It had rock music right along with classical. The songs were written in poetic form and are confusing to many. But the lyrics speak to me more than anything I have ever heard. They have such intent that can easily relate to everything I'm going through as a teenager.

The story is just a meaningful as the music. People stereotype it as a teen angst musical about sex. It's not at all and that pisses me off so much. There are two scenes where they imply sex but that's not the story. Really if you took those scenes out it would change nothing. The show is about German teenagers growing up in the late 1800s. They live in such an oppressed society that the lead character at 14 doesn't even know where babies come from or how they are conceived. And these 20 teenagers just try searching for something in their world to live for. One never finds it and end up taking his life. The other finds it but doesn't realize the consequences until it is too late. This show has so many topics that you can relate your life to it. There is child abuse, corrupt school system, failing school, being alone, lost, premarital sex, abortion, suicide, and dying young. I know it sounds depressing but it's not. It shows us that we are not alone in what we feel and that these problems have been around for thousands of years.

When I listen to the soundtrack I get lost in it. I forget my problems and become immersed in this new world where I understand everything. This show means so much to me and seeing the show live really changed my life. Something different about this show is that actual audience members can sit on stage. My second time seeing Spring Awakening I got this chance. During intermission I had time to just look out as the actors do every night. That was one of the greatest moments of my life. In that moment I saw myself doing what these people did every night. Going on stage and telling a story. Telling a story that affects people much as Spring Awakening has for me.

People make fun of me for being so passionate about this show and acting in general. But really I don't care. Spring Awakening has changed me just as much as Pokemon has for Bridget, SNL for Sarah, Photography for Kayla, and music in general for Jonathan. Much as those things are an escape for you, that's what Spring Awakening is for me. And I do see those eye rolls you give me when I mention it, but you don't realize what this is to me.

The hardest part is that Spring Awakening is done. It closed on Broadway a year ago and the tour is ending this spring. I really can't imagine my life without this show. Whenever I'm mad or sad I just lock myself in my room and blast the cd and think about how somewhere this show is being performed and changing lives. After it's over I can still do this but it's just not the same. The show has given me many new friends, some of which I will never forget. SO you may laugh after you finish reading this journal but I don't care. You may still not understand but this is my response.