Editor's Note: Katy McBride wrote this for an assignment in her senior English Class with Mr. D'Allesandro
By Katy McBride
Mar. 10, 2021: Before I begin this piece, I want to emphasize one point: although I was able to do a good thing, that does not make any of the bad days I’ve had during these past months any less real. I don’t want people to read my story and think that I got a happy ending. Although “Muse Monday” filled a huge hole in my life, I am still mourning the loss of my senior year and the experiences that are supposed to come with it. I never thought I would find myself saying this, but I would do just about anything to sit through another three hour solo recital if it meant getting to perform in front of people.
I will probably never get to perform in the school auditorium in front of a live audience again. I still fantasize about having a normal prom, baccalaureate, and graduation, all of which I know will not happen. I worry about my first semester at college and what it will look like. I do not mean to sound entirely hopeless, but this pandemic is truly one of the most awful things we will ever experience.
But while I may never understand why it had to be us, I find comfort in knowing that we are all going through it together and I take immense pride in creating a place for students, parents and community members alike to momentarily escape the madness through art.
Why did it have to be us? Although I may never know the answer, this is a question I’ve found myself asking over and over again. As a singer and performer, this pandemic is one of the most devastating things I have ever experienced. Though I have always loved to sing in the shower, I never imagined that it would become my only venue.
As I received email after email about rehearsals and performances being cancelled or moved online, I felt entirely helpless. My Instagram feed was flooded with announcements about shows closing on Broadway or actors in need of financial assistance while out of work. One day while I was cleaning out my Instagram account, I clicked on the Arts Society Instagram account by accident instead of my personal one. For those of you who might not know, the Arts Society is a student-run club at Bronxville dedicated to promoting and celebrating the Arts.
I clicked on our most recent post, a recap of the Open Mic Night we had hosted back in February. I smiled to myself and reflected on how much of a success that night had been. In a town where student athletes often get the spotlight, it was nice to know that myself and my fellow club executives had created a platform for the performers and artists in our school. That was when inspiration struck me. What’s stopping us from giving them another platform? I thought to myself. Our Instagram feed was basically collecting cobwebs at that point, so why not revamp it as a place to share and appreciate the awesome work of our peers? I texted my fellow club execs, and soon we had created our new series: Muse Monday.
The idea was that every Monday, we would feature a new “spotlight student” on our Instagram page. We wanted to promote all of the artists and performers in our student body; everyone from singers to dancers to poets reading to artists. We reached out to our peers, explaining our idea and asking for submissions, and before we knew it we had our first post. The support we received from the community was greater than we could have imagined. Each week, our page was flooded with support from friends and peers of our artists and performers, more than we could have ever imagined.
The Bronxville Foundation even reached out to us and asked us to do a story about the series for them. It was so rewarding to know that the rest of the community shared the same appreciation for our performers and artists during the spring, since many of us felt overlooked and somewhat underappreciated.
Starting the “Muse Monday” series was definitely one of the highlights of my quarantine experience. It gave me a sense of purpose and control in a time where I felt I had neither. It was a privilege to get to promote my peers and all of the awesome work they’ve done.
It’s truly an honor to know that I was able to give my peers a safe platform to showcase their immense talents during a time where it felt like the shower was the only one for some of us. I now know that the shower was never my only venue, although it is still my favorite place by far to put on my World Tour performances.
