Confession: I was that weird kid in high school that actually liked Spanish class. Prior to my sophomore year in high school, I'd never had any experience with a foreign language. I was quickly enthralled. The verb conjugation charts, the strange new phonetics of familiar letters, the shared vocabulary spoken in different ways, the completely novel vocabulary that just had to be memorized--it all made my brain so happy in a way I'd never experienced before. And I began to realize that there was so much about my first language I didn't know, like what in the world an adverb is and how English pronunciation rules make no sense.

In his play "As You Like It," William Shakespeare uses the line "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts..." As cliché as is it to use a quotation from Shakespeare to begin a theatre blog post, those particular lines highlight the permeating nature of theatre as an art form. It’s not just about “play[ing] many parts” on a stage in a dark room.

For the final lesson I teach my eighth grade students at the end of each school year, I want it be something they will remember long after they leave my classroom. In the days leading up to this final lesson, I challenge them to ask the questions that will matter most as they navigate high school and life beyond like "What are wisdom and truth and where do they come from?" and "What am I consuming?" My final charge to them is to practice self-reflection as they progress in life and consider whether they are conforming or transforming.