Vinnie Cavallero

Junior year of high school my theater department put on a play entitled, “All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten.” Not a single soul in the program had heard of it before, and the title even drew some of us away. We did not at the time understand how much this show would change our lives.


The show was comprised of 12 vignettes, all extremely simple situations that unexpectedly flipped into life lessons. As we slowly but surely worked through the show, we all began to understand what it would soon mean to us. Each scene took a fairly basic situation and analyzed any and all deeper meanings behind it. I had the privilege of ending the show with a heart wrenching monologue that I will carry with me for as long as I live.


“I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless, with what I have, I can reflect light into the dark places of this world- into the black places in the hearts of men- and change some things in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what I am about. This is the meaning of my life.”


Our performances came nowhere near being sold out, but that was not the point. We were not doing this show for the profit. Audiences of only thirty people made the experience so much more intimate and meaningful. As a cast, we were telling stories that everyone can relate to in one way or another and not a single audience member left that theater with dry eyes.


This show taught me how impactful our actions truly are. Life should not be lived selfishly and alone. You can choose to either change the world, or change your shoes, but change is always possible. From that point on, I have been inspired to not only be the light, but reflect the light wherever I am capable. I would not be where I am today without those who chose to reflect their light on me, and I hope to do the same for others.