Student Blog: The Summer After High School

My name is Ariana Glaser, and I am so thrilled to be one of BroadwayWorld's newest student bloggers! 

Let's face it: Senior year is hard. For a music major, senior year is even harder. But after a long and arduous college process, I am so thrilled to be attending University of Miami's Frost School of Music for contemporary voice and songwriting! But before I start college, I'm intent on making the most out of my last summer in high school.

 Though at the end of my college process I decided not to get a BFA, I've nonetheless vowed to keep theatre in my life in every way possible. That's why I was so unbelievably thrilled to have been cast as Mary Phagan in Parade at Cultural Arts Playhouse in Merrick. Anyone who knows me knows that Parade is one of my all-time favorite shows, and I'm so excited to get to bring such a heart achingly beautiful story to life.

Additionally, I'll be spending a week in July at a for-credit journalism program at Ohio University. As evident by my position as a writer for BroadwayWorld, writing, and the arts have always gone hand in hand for me. Thus, it's important I never let one of the two passions overshadow the other.

Finally, I can't discuss my final summer in high school without discussing the finality of it. While on the brink of an exciting new beginning, I also remain reminded of all that I'll be leaving behind. For example, I walked out of my high school's music hallway on graduation day for the final time. Though I'm sure I'll be back to visit at some point, the change of pretense will surely be noticeable. For many of us, our high school theatre departments become our homes, and there will always be a space in my heart for the hallway I shed so many laughs and tears in. I'm spending every moment I can with my best friends, those who I rehearsed late in the night with, those who I sang louder than healthy in the car with, those I saw musicals in the city with. There is certainly a noticeable bittersweetness in this summer, but I'm also reminded that change is good: If it weren't for change, I'd have never experienced all the wonderful things I did. I can't wait to see all the wonderful things this summer holds, and even more so the exciting things the next four years will hold for me.