BWW Blog: Thank You, BroadwayWorld!

As I approach my Junior year of college, I find that most areas of my life grow larger with each and every passing day. School work continues to pile up larger than before, there are more worries to have to think about, and yet, my heart continuously grows bigger with love for all of those little things. Because of this, I'm stepping away from BroadwayWorld student blogging. Before I go, I want to say a few thank you's!

Thank you to BroadwayWorld, for keeping us theatre lovers up to date on all of Broadway's latest happenings (especially in the middle of a pandemic) and for creating a community that loves each other and loves the art that we help to create. It is such a beautiful thing to find commonalities, to think that out there in this big and scary universe, there are people who deeply value the same things as you. There are people like me who's favorite song from Waitress is "You Matter To Me", or people who screamed when Anthony Ramos got cast as Usnavi in the In The Heights movie adaptation, even people who cry at the second "Seasons of Love'' starts to play. There are people who relate more to Eponine than Cosette, people who think Cathy and Jamie were both to blame, people who proclaim Hamilton as their favorite musical even if it might be considered "mainstream" now. Most importantly, there are people, like me, who have found a garden and intend to continue planting within it.

Thank you to our fearless leader, Taylor, who reads all of our blogs (no matter how long or boring) and encourages us to do our best while simultaneously reminding us to take care of ourselves. I am so grateful for a whole year of combining two of my favorite passions, writing and theatre. Words are, as Dumbledore states, "our most inexhaustible source of magic." They can do just about anything. Along this journey, I've made spectacular friends (shoutout Josephine), found an outlet, and learned so much from my fellow bloggers. This year and experience is truly one I will never forget. Most of all, if you're reading this or if you've read any of my past blogs, thank YOU! Thank you for supporting my ideas and 2 A.M. thoughts that snuck their way onto paper. Thank you to my family and friends for editing my Google Docs and responding to my "Is this even good?" texts.

Lastly, thank you to Broadway. Broadway is so much more than just a street in New York, than a single show or a single story. Within it is the formation of a sacred shelter that houses every single lost and found soul, no matter how different they might be. I have grown older with show tunes blaring from my headphones, record player and '96 Corolla's car stereo - they make days better and life lighter. I am so grateful to have found a passion that I adore so much I want to keep diving deeper and deeper into it, and that's what I will continue to do. Even after time passes or jobs let go, Broadway and all it represents truly is forever.

If you want to keep up with me, please feel free to check out my personal blog over at https://izzidishesallday.blogspot.com/! I'd still love to be your friend.

'Till we meet again,

Izzi Diaz