Natalie Long

It was a cold Tuesday evening in February, during tech week for Hello, Dolly! The last rehearsal for the show happened the night before, and it was senior night. I don’t remember much from that night, except for the strange sensation of joy and sadness at the same time.

After the senior speeches, my tears dried on my face, feeling the cool air against my cheeks as I walked. My mind was preoccupied with the upcoming preview performance for my parents, my mind racing through the process to make sure everything ran smoothly.

I walked up the stairs to the stage, following the very strict rule of “no jumping up on the stage.” I headed toward my stage left home, seeing Mr. Banning walking toward me. I smiled and moved over so he could walk by me, but instead of continuing, he stopped in front of me.

I looked at him with a confused expression, and he paused for a moment, then looked back and all he said was, “You’ll be missed, Natalie,” and he walked away.

It was a small interaction, but he had never said anything like that to me before. It made me feel like I had a purpose in our band and theatre. And at that moment, I knew our music department would be what I missed most after graduation.