I love theatre. I’ll say it again: I LOVE theatre. It’s been a huge part of my life for a long time and remains one to this day. It’s why I flew over to England to go to grad school and it’s why I schlep myself into the city at five am to sign up for an audition slot. That’s how much I love theatre.

My love affair with the art started when I was a wee child. My parents for a while were on the board of a local community theatre, and they hauled my tiny ass over there all the time. I spent so much time in that building, I knew it as well as I did my house. Some of my favorite childhood memories were of times spent in that building, my favorite being the one where I made a volunteer crew’s job of building the set for the next show a million times harder by standing in the middle of the stage and singing “Tomorrow” (parents, don’t let your kids do this).

Beyond being a place I spent my childhood in, theatre also was my savior growing up. Not to get too heavy, but let’s just say I was not a popular child (shock of the century). But when I was on stage, I was a completely different person. It didn’t matter if I got picked on or teased, I was on fire onstage (and if anyone had the cajones to tell me that I wasn’t good at drama, god help them). It gave me purpose and helped me come out of my shell.

The point of me talking about this isn’t just a history lesson. I want to let anyone who’s having a hard time in school, work or life know that things can get better. Find something that you love to do: it could be theatre, writing, dancing, curling, whatever you want. Then do it. Do it as much or as little as you want. Whatever problems you’re dealing with, you’ll find that having a creative outlet helps. When you have something to focus on and pour all your energy into, you forget about all the BS of the real world and can lose yourself in what you love (spoken like a true Aspie). If you truly love what you’re doing, you won’t care what anyone has to say. Just keep doing it.

–Lizzy