From the stands
Caption and Boards by Caitlin Beatrice Mutas | 29 October 25
It starts as a strange feeling settling in your stomach.
The lights blind. The music swells. Every step carries the weight of what brought you here. It makes your heart race; the moment holds you high, bathes you in glory—but something’s missing. It’s not enough. Not yet.
A strange feeling that almost distracts you from the empty space beside you.
This year, the ones who dreamed with you are told to stay seated—small specks in the crowd, as if their journeys end where yours begins. Rules may keep them from the spotlight, but never from your story. The applause may rise for you, but the echoes belong to them.
From the stands, they watch; on the stage, you stand. They may not be beside you to hold your hand, but as you scan the crowd and meet their eyes, you’ll feel them reaching back, even from afar.
That’s when you know: this victory was never yours alone.
