Getting Closer

A big part of being in show choir is bonding. By the end of the year, I can almost always say I feel like I’m part of a big, dysfunctional family with great memories. One memory that has already been made was a party held at a member’s house. We all bought matching shirts which we tie-dyed at her house, we played Just Dance in sort of a “tournament,” and we sat around listening to music getting more acquainted with the people we’ll spend more time with during the winter than our families. At about midnight, the boys left the party and the girls were allowed to stay the night if they wanted to.  I chose to stay the night because I felt like even more memories would be made and I could get even closer to some of the girls in the group. I was completely right. About half of the girls in the group stayed the night. There were girls I knew really well and some I knew just their name. We lay in a circle on the floor in the basement and went around telling everyone something other people didn’t know about us.  Some girls were very personal and told their life stories and tears were definitely shed. I gained a lot of respect for the girls in my group because I didn’t know what some of them had gone through.

Another thing our group has done that brought us closer was singing at Drew Wall’s funeral service. Drew Wall was a student at Kennedy High School for 2 years. He was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2008 after he had a constant pain in the lower part of his right leg. Drew made the life changing decision to amputate that part of his leg in hopes of stopping the cancer. Unfortunately, the cancer spread. Drew passed away on November 26, 2012 after being hospitalized in Iowa City and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The doctors performed a CT scan on Drew and found a cancerous tumor on his lung. Drew had also contracted pneumonia and a virus that couldn’t be stopped. After 12 days in the hospital, Drew informed his family he wanted to go home. Drew passed away that evening. The next day, Kennedy students came together and wore purple, the color for supporting cancer, in honor of Drew Wall. Happiness was asked by the family to perform a song at Drew’s service. Without question, we all agreed. We practiced a song 3 times before we had to sing it on Monday. I saw peers at that service bawling that I had never seen display any sort of emotion before. People I never talked to hugged me and we supported each other in such a tough time. I was proud to say I was a part of such a great group of people that cared so much about everyone else, even people they had never said a word to before.  This experience brought our group together more than a party or winning a grand championship at any competition.

The next opportunity we have to get closer is coming up on the 15^th of December. Luckily, we’re having our holiday party before the world is supposed to end. A different student has opened their home to us and we have all chosen someone for Secret Santa. Even Mr. Ziegler, our director, filled out the information and chose a student to buy for. I’m going to be honest, I don’t even know the person I chose but from what I can tell, something from Panchero’s is going to be my best bet. Maybe I’ll just get them a burrito.

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