On Friday, I had the opportunity to attend an Honors Night Out through the CV honors program. That evening, I attended a play at the Dallas Theatre Center called "The Mountaintop." The play is 90 minutes long and the entirety of it takes place in a hotel room in Memphis where Dr. Martin Luther King stayed the night before his assassination. "The Mountaintop" was a fantastic play, and I really enjoyed it. It does an excellent job of humanizing Dr. King, portraying him not as the martyr that our history textbooks depict him as, but rather as a human being with real fears, vices, and vulnerabilities, just like the rest of us. I was pretty surprised by the plot twist that was revealed to us halfway through, as I didn't think the play would be taken in that direction; however, I think that really just added to the overall effect, and is what made it such a memorable experience. Also, I have to say- my favorite part was probably the actress who played Carrie Mae. She was really talented, and had the audience in stitches the entire way through. The play as a whole was hilarious, provocative, and emotionally compelling and sensitive. The speech made by the actor who played Dr. King, in which he implores the audience to "carry the baton" and not let it fall, had me in tears at the very end, because that message really resonated with me. It is up to each and every single one of us to stand up and make a difference in the world, rather than give in or sit passively. Whether that happens on a large or small scale is irrelevant; what matters most is that we never stay complacent and allow our strength, talent, and ability to go to waste.
"We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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