Will we graduate from our expectations?

Art defies expectations

Their hearts burst forth as if nothing could stop their passionate play upon this urban playground. They leap, twirl and somersault through the air like a choreographed dance routine. Then the unthinkable happens as a new presence rips away their comfortable reality. Everyone freezes as an old player enters this moonlit stage. They quickly scatter like dead leaves before a furious wind. There was nothing more frightening to them than one of their own who was grey and could no longer dance.  She reminded them that they, too, will lose the ability to do the things that make them feel alive. 

One of the most iconic songs in the musical Cats is "Memory." The context is the scene described above where an extremely old cat named Grizabella makes a passionate appeal for acceptance by her fellow felines. She recounts how her once vibrant and beautiful life has been replaced by loneliness and despair.

When I recently saw a high school production of Cats,  it defied my expectations. First, the students made their own cat costumes. This is typically done by parent and community volunteers in these kind of productions.  Next, it was unclear to me  if a high school student could bring the emotional complexity and energy required in "Memory."  My thinking was that such a piece required more life experience and perspective than an 18 year old could draw upon. The senior playing Grizabella was able to move beyond giving a performance to behaving as if what she was singing actually happened to her. When I later went through the cast biography, she referred to her theater group as family. I believe the breakup of this family after graduation was one of the emotional realities she channeled in her character. 

Art at its highest level defines expectations. It moves beyond mediocre and predictable choices to something totally new and vibrant. In this sense, we can create art in our daily lives, at work and in our relationships. Wisdom helps us to recognize that some life events may never come again and now exist only in "memory." This is why it is so important to be able to reinvent ourselves throughout the course of our lives so we can take on new challenges. 

We wish the graduating class of 2016 much success in positively defying expectations!  Will we do the same?