#lahiru samarasinghe

From June to September, I went back to the one thing that kept me sane throughout all of college, high school, and even middle school: theatre. I was a part of five different shows this past summer, which is much heavier dose of theatre than I had ever participated in during school (I was usually only in one show at a time). They were all so unique and so different from one another, so it’s pretty difficult to put any point of this summer above another. But what made this summer truly special was that of the five shows I had done, four of them were written and/or directed by one or more of my friends. In fact, I myself co-written and co-directed one of these shows, rather than being a part of the cast.

Now, the community theatre company that I have been working with is mostly targeted at high school students, college students at the oldest. This made me one of the “old people” there, so it was clear that my time there was coming to an end. But most of these shows weren’t a part of that theatre company. They were written, directed, and produced by organizations created by friends that were my age. We were making the shows ourselves. It was like we had spend so many years in the passenger seat, and then just decided one day, “you know what? Maybe I’ll give driving a shot.” And boy, did it work!

I guess where I’m trying to go with this is that this summer fully shifted my mindset to where I’m realizing that if I see something that I want to exist not existing, I can make it myself! And this inspiration has caused me to throw myself headfirst into about four different projects (some of which you may be hearing about soon!). And I’m loving every second of it. A year ago, I knew I wanted to write comedy, but I didn’t know how to go about making these projects a reality. But now I’ve learned that if you really want to make something, you just gotta do it.

I don’t know. I’m looking through this post, and it’s not making a lot of sense. But I really wanted to take a moment to write this all down.

1. Daylio 

Daylio is an app that helps you keep track of your mood. Now, if I were to read that last sentence, I’d probably think, “ugh, another daily app that I have to remember to use every day.” I have failed time and time again to keep consistent journals, so I understand hypothetical Lahiru’s sentiment. It might be difficult to hold yourself responsible to do something that’s techincally unnecessary on a daily basis just because of your own self-interest. But Daylio is so simple and quick to use while remaining actually effective that it doesn’t bring any extra burden into your life to use it. All you have to do each day is rate the way you’re feeling on a scale from “awful” to “rad” and then check off some of the things you were doing when you felt that way (see the screenshots above). The process takes seconds. All of these options and word choices can be edited to fit your own life, so you can truly make it your own. The best part is is that you can set a reminder on the app so that your phone reminds you to use the app each day, entirely removing responsibility to remember the app from you. I really like it because it’s interesting to see the trends between my activities and my mood. You can get it for free on the App Store.

2. Waitress

This is a musical that has been on Broadway and is currently scheduled for a tour this year. It’s about this waitress (surprise!) and baker named Jenna who works in this little diner in the south called “Joe’s Diner.” The show consists of Jenna dealing with everyday life while at work and an abusive husband with whom she gets pregnant at home. It’s an emotional journey of self-learning, self-hatred and, eventually, self-love that’s quite moving. But it isn’t the show itself that I’d like to write about for this post, it’s the music. All the songs in the show are written by Sara Bareilles, and I absolutely love them. They manage to have the typical theatrical feel of musical numbers that make it feel like the songs belong on a stage, while still maintaining the deep and touching feeling that we (or, at least, I) have come to associate with Sara Bareilles’ music. In fact, one of her songs that you might have heard on the radio a few years back, “She Used to Be Mine,”  is one of the climactic songs in the show. There are two main recordings of the show’s music, the Original Broadway Recording and What’s Inside, which is an album of songs from the show, but sung by Bareilles. I would definitely recommend trying both out.

3. Dan and Phil

If you are a fan of the Internet, then there is a high chance that you are also a fan of Dan Howell and Phil Lester. These two British YouTubers and roommates have very quickly taken over my life with all of the funny and feel-good content that they have made over the years. Dan is basically the personified version of the depressing end of the me_irl subreddiit, while Phil is a happy-go-lucky golden retriever of a human whose humor shines mainly through his childlike curiosity. While they do have their own individual channels (Dan’s can be found here, and Phil’s here), the best videos that either of them have produced are the ones that they have made together. The chemistry between these two friends are unlike anything I have ever seen, and I think that there’s something that people enjoy about seeing two people who care about each other get along so well. They’re also far more hilarious together, as chaos very easily arises from the fact that their personalities are basically the happy-sad theatre masks that every high school drama club tries to include in its logo. In fact, the Dan and Phil, or Phan, friendship is capable of such good content that they even have a gaming channel together: DanandPhilGames. Here, they play every sort of video game, from Halo to The Sims to online games like The Impossible Quiz. I am not a video game person by any means, but this channel is literally one of my most favorite things on the Internet, simply because these two do such a good job of making me laugh. They are very much worth your time.

4. Because of Winn-Dixie

Most people will recognize this as the title of a movie, but I’m actually writing about the book that the film is based on. I read it when I was a child, and again more recently, which is how it made it into this month’s favorites post. The book is about India Opal Buloni, a girl who just moved into the small town of Naomi, Florida with her father, a preacher. Here, she meets Winn-Dixie, a dog that changes India’s life. Thanks to Winn-Dixie, India finds friends in people she never would have talked to on her own, allowing this new town to feel like home after all. I absolutely love all the characters in this book, as they each have their own sentiments and baggage that allows them to form this group of people that didn’t know they needed each other. And even though it’s a children’s book, Kate DiCamillo, the author, manages to explore love and friendship and suffering in a way that I find really mature. Overall, it’s a feel-good book that I think you’ll be glad you took the time to read.

Typically, summer vacation was a time to relax. You could reconnect with your friends, do whatever you wanted, and enjoyed spending time with your family. But that wasn’t the case this time. That’s becacuse this time around, I wasn’t leaving school for the beginning of summer vacation. I was leaving school for the beginning of the rest of my life.

The time that I usually spent enjoying my time at home I now had to spend trying to figure out how to get out. By which I mean get a job, find my own place, and leave the nest to become my own, independent, self-sufficient adult human being. Now, while I have take the first few steps into this process (applying and interviewing for jobs, etc.), it is hard not to feel the pressure every time someone’s parents ask you what you’re doing after college. Because I’m still in the process of finding it out myself.

I feel confident in my qualifications and the way my education has prepared me for my potential job, and everyone who I talk to says that it’ll bee fine and that it’ll work out. But every day that it isn’t fine and it doesn’t work out comes with a little gift-wrapped package of self-doubt. And I know I’m not the only one in this situation: plenty of people who I have graduated with feel the same way.

So here is my message to you guys: we got this. We’ve spent the last four years (or however long it took you) trying and trying and trying and it got us a college degree, which is a pretty big deal. Not only did we gain the technical knowledge that our classes taught us, but we learned a lot about ourselves and how the world around us works. Most importantly, we learned that giving up is the last thing we should do. Persevering got us this far, so there’s no reason for us to stop now.

This all reminds of a comic that I recently saw posted by one of my favorite tumblrs, Incidental Comics. I’ve pasted it below:

1. Bojack Horseman

(Before I go on to say anything, can we appreciate 

This first on my list is the Netflix show Bojack Horseman. The show is about the title character, a washed-up 90s tv star from a “Full House” type show who is trying to maintain his fame. The show takes place in Hollywoo (yes, I spelled that correctly), home to the stars in a world where humans and animals live in tandem, as if the animals were humans themselves. The show has a really dry sense of humor, and isn’t afraid to approach the dark side of life, which really helps develop Bojack as a full character. You learn that even though he has this life of fame and fortune and can basically get whatever he wants, whenever he wants, he isn’t necessarily always happy, and actually spends most of his life otherwise. I think that’s one of the things that I like about this show. The fact that this cartoon with talking, while intended as a comedy, can get depressing and sad an real at times, somehow makes it more realistic than a live-action comedy with human actors.

So if you’re into that, I’d definitely recommend checking it out!

2. Candles

Okay, look, I know that I’m late to the game. Candles have already become a thing, but until this school year, I was never really faced with a need for them! Allow me to explain: both of my roommates are Indian, and thus, they cook a lot of Indian food in the apartment. Now, the smell of Indian food is quite good, but only when it is attached to food, not when it is attached to a PERSON. Call me crazy, but I don’t feel the need to smell like whatever eccentric mixture of spices my roommates decided to use on their food today. So, I invested in candles! Leaving one lit (lol ayyyyyyyy......I’m sorry) for about an hour not only fills my room with whatever delightful scent I’ve chosen. I’ve used a variety of scents over the past year, but I’ve found that my favorite has been the vanilla-scented one. Not only does it smell like what I assume fairy farts smells like, but it’s so distinct that I can easily tell when I’ve left the candle on for long enough to complete eradicate the other smells in the room. Hint for college kids: I know that for a higher price you can get a huge variety of smells, but the dollar section of any Walgreens/CVS-type store has a solid collection as well, so I’d start there first.

3. Vienna by Billy Joel

Now, this may have been in a favorites post before, because this has been my favorite song of all time for quite a while now. I don’t particularly know what the song is about, but the lyrics are clearly very personal to Billy Joel, the legendary rock icon who sings the song. Somehow, his closeness to the song accompanied with its overall vibe makes it very relatable and meaningful, despite the mysterious lyrics. It’s soulful, sad, and hopeful, all at the same time, which is probably why its so effective at making me feel better whenever I listen to it. The original song sung by Joel can be listened to here, while an Ariana Grande cover (I can see your skepticism, but it’s good) can be found here. Additionally, a short cover of the song by Lennon Stella of Lennon and Maisy, who I wrote about in my VERY FIRST FAVORITES POST can be found here.

4. Moana

Okay, something else that I am late to the game for. Look, I loved this movie. And I haven’t had a chance to talk about it before so I’m going to talk about it now. This movie was all about embracing who you are and finding the strength in being that person. It’s about having something to believe in. It’s about loving where you come from. All the messages in this movie were so strong and important, and the fact that the main character was a strong, brown girl made it even more important to me. Children’s movies need diversity now more than ever, which is one of the things that makes this movie so significant. Not to mention that the animation and music in this movie were beautiful, too.

5. You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes

This is Pete Holmes. He is currently my favorite standup comedian. And he has a podcast in which he has deep and intense conversations with other comedians. What’s so great about this podcast is that there really aren’t any limits. Pete isn’t really afraid to take the conversation into uncomfortable places (aka “make it weird”). In doing so, we get a glimpse into the perspectives of these various comedians. More importantly, we get a glimpse into perspectives that may not match our own. The main three themes that Holmes tries to hit with his guest are comedy, love, and religion, three very multifaceted topics. Despite the depth reached in these conversations, there is always room saved for laughter. So if you love comedy, or thoughtful conversations, or jsut thinking in general, give this show a listen. You can find it here.

Well, that’s all I have for this month. It’s weird, I actually found this more time-consuming and difficult to write than some of my other posts. It’s probably because in previous posts, I usually have a train of thought to hitch a ride on while I write the post. Here, I was kind of coming up with things on the spot, since I didn’t have my favorites planned out (note for next time). But I hoped you enjoyed reading this, and that you found out about something that you might consider checking out.

For those of you who don’t know, color runs are events, typically as a fundraiser, that consists of its participants running some distance as their splattered with different colored paints of powders. It allows people to have fun, get covered in color, and take cute pictures for their Facebook profile, all while ignoring the culture from which this tradition originally came from.

Holi is a celebration of the potential of a successful spring harvest, the colors of the spring, and has religious significance in Hinduism as well. The color-throwing session is traditionally preceded with a ceremonial bonfire the night before, and are followed by family time with food.

Look, I get it, Holi looks awesome. You’re jealous of how fun and quirky the pictures that your Indian friends put online are. You want to have fun, too. But you don’t care to take part in any of the other traditions that come with Holi. Or to learn more about the cultural signicance and meaning that this holiday has with certain people. The solution? Just take the fun part of someone else’s culture, give it a different (and uncreative) name, and call it your own. 

What’s wrong with that?

Everything. Literally everything.

I think the only thing worse than blatant ignorance towards other people’s cultures is making money off of it, which is what typically happens at these color runs. Even if its for a good cause, it’s still disrespectful. 

What I don’t like is the fact that there isn’t any credit given to where the idea for color-throwing came from. In fact, it’s so bad that most of these people who take part in color runs don’t even know that Holi exists. The least you could do after stealing someone else’s tradition for your own entertainment is learn about where it came from.

So if I’m friends with you on Facebook, just know that I won’t be liking your pictures from your color runs, nor will I be accepting any invites you send me for your color runs. If I believe in the cause you’re raising money for, I’ll donate. But I don’t care to take part in yet another instance of America’s tradition of...well, stealing other people's traditions.

If you want to throw color, go to a Holi celebration. I’m sure they’d love to have you. There’s nothing wrong with celebrating and taking part in the cultures of others, as long as it’s respectful.

Oh, and if you’re a student group or a charity looking for a fun way to raise money, and are considering a color run, don’t. Find something else. Do a bake sale or something.

Now, as I write this, I am going to approach this topic using Prom, as this is the most relevant thing plaguing the minds of high-schoolers right now, but I feel like this can apply to any of the angst-driven situations that come up during high school.

First of all, “It doesn’t matter” is not advice. Not even a little bit. No conversation in which one person is consoling another has ever gone like this:

Person 1: Hey, I’m sad/upset/worried about _______.

Person 2: Don’t be. It totally doesn’t matter.

Person 1: Wow! You’re right! I completely forgot that emotions work exactly like clothes: once I realize I don’t need them, I can just get rid of them! Thanks :)

“It doesn’t matter” is just about the least helpful thing you could say to someone about something that they are concerned about. In fact, if this is your idea of advice, may I recommend that you rather turn to that high-schooler, look them in the eye, and say “I’m sorry, I’m too stupid and lack the necessary empathy to help you.”

Secondly, you’re right. But not completely. Look, most, if not all, high school drama will cease to matter a couple of years into the future, if not sooner. I know that, you know that, and, deep down, the high-schooler you’re talking to knows that, too. But guess what? THEY AREN’T A COUPLE YEARS INTO THE FUTURE YET. If life could be represented by the Yellow Brick Road, they’re the Dorothy that’s about to walk through the field of poppies, while we’re the Dorothy that’s already been to Emerald City and are now off trying to figure out how to destroy the Wicked Witch of the West. Sure, we’re facing much scarier things than a bunch of flowers that can make you sleepy, but the field of poppies is the most immediate obstacle that they’re facing right now. The fact that something won’t matter in the future doesn’t stop it from mattering now. So just try to help them through the poppies before freaking them out about the Witch.

Finally, take a moment to think about what you’re doing by telling them that “Prom (or whatever it is) doesn’t matter.” We already established what you aren’t doing: helping them. But what you are doing is marginalizing their problems and bragging about the fact that you don’t have to face them anymore. You’re basically saying, “Wow, you still have to deal with that? Pshhh, I don’t.” And that’s...just a really mean thing to do. Yes, each of us made it through high school, but did it feel easy at the time? No, it was filled with angst, heartbreak, and emotional turmoil. And if it took us getting through it to realize that none of it ended up mattering, how can we possibly expect any different from them?