I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck

With my choreographing, I get to observe high school kids in their natural habitat.

I usually think one of two things. Either something like "Look how young they are! Were kids I went to high school with that young? Not possible. Oh how much they need to learn! How cute and wee!"

Then sometimes they remind me exactly of me. The female lead is also doing the costumes and she has a harp something or other next week. One of my dancers had some field trip last week and had to leave early today for a tennis tournament. My male dance captain is the light designer and was arranging a cappella music and is one of the people in charge of the swing dance club.

These kids are already juggling 25 things and doing really well at it. The high school they're attending is a magnet high school for the gifted and talented. Had I stayed in Texas after middle school, that's the kind of high school I was enrolled in. These kids are brilliant and talented and totally on top of things. They're quite pleasant to work with and they remind me so much of me. I even see myself in the really geeky ones sometimes, though I'm thrilled I mostly grew out of the awkwardness. Mostly.