And All the Lights that Light the Way are Blinding

Note: I apologize if this is hard to understand/cryptic. I try to separate my school and personal life from this blog... I'm going through a lot in both. Your understanding is appreciated.

So yesterday I went to Gettysburg. Granted, this is the third time I've been to Gettysburg, but I decided to go again with the AP US History class and my AC2 Scholars Class because, well, Civil War. This past Saturday we had the Cemetery Re-dedication, also a Civil War thing. But I want to save the Civil War ventures for another day.

Going to Gettysburg from Pittsburgh requires a four-plus hour bus ride in each direction. In that amount of time I could have slept (if they weren't singing Harry Potter songs behind me) or did homework, but instead I did three things: wrote a bit, talked a bit, and thought a lot.

One of my new favorite quotes is from Walter Cronkite:

"I learned early on that the masks of comedy and tragedy adorn the proscenium of life"

-Walter Cronkite, A Reporter's Life 1996.

"Proscenium" is a theater term for the architectural 'frame' around the stage. It hides the moving parts like the flies and scenery, drawing your attention to the performance.

The Proscenium is the wood paneling here, as well as the curtains.
Courtesy: ronniejackson.com

I've been thinking a lot about theater and about the moving parts, and the big metaphor with life here. Each person, much like each audience member, sees a different performance. The actor does his or her best to portray a certain character or emotion or whatever, and chooses to ignore the real ones, for the sake of the show. It's an interesting concept, in the sense that it is true. People only know the person you portray to them.

I was thinking this as I was walking through fields and passing farmland. I'm also thinking about how being detached from certain things is a very good thing for me on a personal level.

Having a break from everything to look from a different perspective ultimately adds to my own perspective. I really am trying to avoid some weird metaphor that doesn't make sense, but it's hard to explain.

Bottom line, I've realized a lot. I've realized what a proscenium and fly system backs me up. And above all, I've come to realize what a production some people's lives are, and how simple mine is. And I love every minute... and I think at this point, I'm running tech to my own life.