Shannon Philpott-Sanders

GLEE-fully Reminiscing

High school was a turbulent time for me. Freshman year, I transferred to a high school where I knew only one person in a sea of 2,000 students. I had to leave my grade school friends and struggle to find my way, and more importantly, myself.

 As most high schoolers find, it is a time where you have no idea how to act, how to fit in and how to invent yourself. I wasn’t sure where I belonged – I wasn’t an athlete, I wasn’t in a clique, I wasn’t an honor student, I wasn’t a stoner and I wasn’t a cheerleader. I was just an ordinary student wandering around the halls, lost, until I entered the choir room.

 I loved to sing, but I was extremely shy at first. I didn’t want to stand out that year and I didn’t want to call attention to myself. However, there is something mesmerizing about singing that begs you to be in the limelight – to stand out and to join forces with other voices.

 The next four years I spent majority of my time in that room, harmonizing to every song I could get my hands on, learning dance moves and making some of the best friends I could have ever imagined. We were a unique group of students thrown together like a pot of leftover stew – all tasty and talented on our own, but much more fulfilling when mixed together.

 Today, I spent the entire day back in that choir room with my eclectic group of show choir friends. In reality, I was on my couch watching the first eight episodes of GLEE, but it brought me back to my high school days where the excitement of performing was contagious and our lives were theatrical and dramatic.

 Just as the popular TV show portrays the comedic struggles of the GLEE club members, we, too, faced ridicule from the stereotypical jocks, cheerleaders and ‘popular kids.’ However, when we were in that room, singing and dancing to Queen mashups, show tunes and even a Paula Abdul song at one point, our lives were simple.

 When performing with my peers, I didn’t think about the pressures of home, work and teenage hormones. I didn’t stress about the plans for my future or how I would finance college. I felt a part of something that mattered and most importantly, something that ultimately helped me find myself.

 As I watched the Glee Cast peform everything from “Busta Move” to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” today, I felt that same sense of accomplishment that I did years ago dressed in my sequence gown and dancing shoes.

 Sometimes, it just takes a televised gang of misfits to bring four years of memories full circle. It was a Glee-ful moment for me once again.

– Shannon Philpott
Blog Entry: Feb. 21, 2010

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February 21, 2010 - Posted by sphilpott | Blog, Reflecting | Glee, Glee Cast, high school choirs, high school memories, high school music groups, show choir