Patricia Lin
They say that hindsight is 20/20. As my time on the Hilltop began, I wanted to get as involved in campus life as possible. Unfortunately, when I reflect on my experience, I realize that I may have committed a little too much. I signed up for five classes, became a member of DC Reads, and joined a theater group. I soon realized that I had become part of a crowd. The student body at Georgetown constantly feels the need to be perfect. This pressure can manifest itself in many different ways. But thanks to my part in theater, I soon learned that stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it can even be positive.
As a freshman, I quickly picked up on the fact that people here definitely try, consciously or not, to glorify stress. Should you find yourself having a genuinely relaxing and easy day, it’s easy to believe that something is off. Now that I have discovered the theater program at Georgetown, I can confidently say that those days of full relaxation are completely behind me.
I love theater. In fact, if you were to ask anyone who graduated from the same high school as I did, they would tell you that the theater is precisely where I spent most of my time outside of class. I am by no means a hotshot actor. I have discovered the precious and intricate elements of theater that lie backstage, and I intend on staying there, at least most of the time. I designed the lights for eight shows back in high school. So, I thought it was time to try something different at college. That is why I gladly accepted the offer to be assistant stage-manage for her in the fall production of War With the Newts in the Department of Performing Arts.
Naïve as I was, I entered the Georgetown theater department completely underestimating the amount of effort it would demand. From the lack of large posters and frenzied promotions, like those you see from big clubs on campus (The Corp, Blue & Gray… you name ‘em), I thought maybe theater at Georgetown was not such a big deal after all. In addition, the position assistant stage manager signaled to me that this job shouldn’t be a huge time commitment, and that it could not possibly be a complex role.
Well, I was wrong. With a 25-hour-per-week rehearsal schedule, Newts soon became a heavy load. But that did not stop me from loving this stressful endeavor. Theater at high school, although intense and spectacular in many of its own ways, was small in comparison to the scope of the project I am currently undertaking. I am honored to be working with some of the most brilliant and gifted people in an extremely challenging yet meaningful environment. Our director has a creative talent that is beyond the scope I would ever have encountered in high school. Thanks to the people involved, I have actually fallen in love with this show, and with theater again.
Before I started at Georgetown, I convinced myself that I should put theater aside and move on to trying new things. But I knew at a place like Georgetown, where opportunities are scarce I was not going to let the chance to work with the department slip by. Like I said, with opportunity comes responsibility, and in my case, a rather hefty one. Stress is unavoidable in this scenario. But I have gradually come to learn to appreciate the stress and this show I am working on. Who knows? Maybe someone I know will one day sail out of Georgetown and become the next Bradley Cooper.
[pullquote]Should you find yourself having a genuinely relaxing and easy day, it’s easy to believe that something is off.[/pullquote]
Through actively pushing my limits daily, I have begun to appreciate my work in theater in new ways. Assistant Stage Manager, a position I initially dismissed and believed to be simple yet burdensome, has brought me to see the opposite. It led to me to learn that, although I have chosen to push myself in my freshman year, I ultimately am doing something I love. Georgetown has provided me with the opportunity to take on stress more introspectively and understand that I do not have to view theater as a stressor or something that is taking away from what little free time I have. Instead I have grown to see theater as a form of expression for my soul, as a place where I belong, and as an art I can appreciate. Theater is something that gives me time to simply get carried away and be immersed in a world of creativity and extension.
Against the business of our academic lives we all have here at Georgetown, it seems essential to me that we all find and retain something key to our identity, be it GU Democrats, GAAP, or even the juggling club! Should it ever become too stressful, try to see it in a different light. It may have taken me a while, but I have found my quintessence and a group of people I can genuinely connect with. I really appreciated what Dean Chester Gillis told me the other day when I went to his home for dinner. He said, and I’m quoting as accurately as I can: “The people you meet at Georgetown will be the people that dance at your wedding.” I am certain when I say that I have never intended on coming to Georgetown just for a degree. When I look back in the future, I wish I could say that I willingly put myself through the stressful months of theater, but I have met and befriended some of the most brilliant people.
Stress, for what it’s worth, is glorified here at Georgetown. But that should not prevent it from being a positive thing. Amidst all of the crazy classes and work I am doing, I just want to leave you with this: Sleep is for the dead. But sleep just enough, so you can go on enjoying the Hoya experience truly and meaningfully.
Ray Gao is a freshman in the College.
