If there’s anything I’ve learned in the almost 24 years I’ve been on this planet, it’s that some things and people come and they go, but everything and everyone comes into our lives for a reason. And I was reminded of that last night when I reconnected with a fellow former drama camper.

It all started 11 years ago when I was in 7th grade. At that point, my theatre career was comprised primarily of the five years of shows I did with my school district’s summer school drama program, which I had just aged out of. I had auditioned for the school plays, but only seemed to land the ensemble roles. I knew the saying, “There are no small parts, only small actors”, but I was starting to get discouraged. Between auditioning for the shows and auditioning for all the solos in chorus class, each rejection was harder to handle than the one before. I wondered why I even bothered putting myself out there. I felt like there was no place for me in the theatre, and that maybe moving onto another activity would be better for my mental health. That was when my parents found Future Stars Drama Camp.

I had a lot of anxiety in the months leading up to the summer. What if this was going to be the same deal as school, just with different shows and different people? But as soon as I got there, I knew that wouldn’t be the case. I was fortunate enough to work with a director named Jon who had various connections to the Broadway community. We also had an assistant coach who had just started her BFA program (and is now starring in the Broadway revival of Cabaret). Most of our shows were essentially variety shows with songs that we picked out. I managed to land not one, but two solos in the show by the second day of camp. I was happy to have some solos, but I was even happier to have a director who believed in me and was willing to take a chance. Two weeks later, we started on another show and once again, I had landed a part.

Those four weeks of drama camp made me realize how much I loved acting. When I went back to school in the fall, I decided to give drama club another shot and audition for my school’s production of Aladdin. Once again, I was cast in the ensemble, but for once, I wasn’t bothered by it. I finally had the validation I was looking for when I went to drama camp. And I made a vow to just keep doing theatre. I knew there were going to be more rejections and disappointments in the future, just as I was going to sometimes get lucky and get the parts I wanted, but I couldn’t let that stop me from doing what I loved the most.

Fortunately, my parents were able to send me back to drama camp for another summer. I was happy to be doing more shows, but I was even happier to be back with my friends, and to make some new friends, some of whom I still keep in touch with to this day. I wasn’t really close with the people I did drama with in school at the time, so it was special for me to have a group of people who shared my love for the theatre. The next summer, I had aged out of drama camp, but I was able to return as a counselor in training and mentor the campers. It was a little different, but I found that it was just as rewarding to mentor and inspire the next generation of young performers as it was to be one of them.

A year later, I realized my time at Future Stars would have to come to an end, although I continued to do theatre throughout high school. I was heading into my junior year and beginning the college search, which meant I’d have to spend the rest of my summers working. I spent a good hour crying when that hit me.

And then I began to realize that if it weren’t for drama camp, my theatre career would have ended in 7th grade. I would have never worked up the courage to audition for the shows in high school and keep doing what I loved. Admittedly, each summer I wasn’t involved in drama camp, I would get a little jealous seeing my friends who still went posting about their shows, and wished I was there. But as the years went by, I realized that I didn’t need drama camp in my life anymore. I had nothing left to prove to myself; I had the confidence I was missing all those years, I still had the people I met along the way, I was doing great in my high school’s theatre program, and that was more than enough for me.

Some things in life just aren’t meant to last forever, and it’s clear Future Stars was one of those things. But, those things can still change your life forever.