by Lauren Gooden
You know at the end of the high school movies when suddenly the place and the people that you’ve been around for the major parts of your life suddenly look a little different? That’s how the end of this experience felt. Amazing, bitter, sweet, beautiful, and scary all at the same time.
I used to dread when Mr. Simmons would say, “Alright everybody, get up and go talk to a new person that you haven’t met before,” with enthusiasm. One I rarely shared because I was so nervous about talking to people I could barely recognize. I used to just sort of scoot around the room hoping someone else would talk to me, which is very out of character for me, because I’m a very social and talkative person most of the time. MYSO was my second home, a place that has seen me grow up. This shouldn’t be this hard for me, but it was.
Once we arrived in Europe, it was suddenly different. I would look around at my fellow musicians during rehearsal and begin to notice familiar faces. I could eventually begin to name some of them, and we’d make subtle eye contact across the room, waving and smiling a little. I’ve shared this with them plenty of times, how it’s so funny that we’ve been here the whole time and yet now we know each other, and not just on a surface level.
I’ll miss waking up and smelling fresh air. Walking around and meeting up with my friends in the most scenic places in the Czech Republic. Making hilarious jokes about what-ifs and reality. I’ve met flute players, bassoon players, cellists, violinists, violists, percussionists, trumpet players, and surprisingly, bass players. I’ve met and made connections with such amazing people and I wouldn’t trade that for anything!
So, you want to know what we did on the last day? Well, there was a lot of walking through historic places, rain that comes and goes, complaints about aching feet, excitement about finding an awesome food place, “can we go here’s” and “can we go there’s,” but mainly, “what happens after this?” What do we do when we are no longer smushed together in a chaperone group that has felt like a family? What happens when we aren’t filming horrible singing videos? What happens when some of us move to college while others begin the next exciting high school chapters?
Poland and the Czech Republic has allowed me to see beautiful things and meet wonderful people. I’ve seen castles, learned history from funny people like Bruno, walked in places where people’s lives have changed, eaten food that I would’ve never otherwise tried, and just had such an amazing time.
I got on a boat for the first time ever and saw the most beautiful sunset I’ve seen in years. There were so many smiles, laughter, naps, games, and food.
Thank you MYSO, for everything you’ve done.
Cover Photo: Lauren Gooden