The most obvious reason that I want to pursue theatre is because I love being onstage, but there's more to it than that. There’s community, expression, and motivation. The community is an aspect that I am so grateful for; it’s encouraging, impressive, creatively-stimulating, full of amazing talent, and takes a particular bond. In fact, the majority of my friends right now are also in theatre. It doesn’t matter that some of us want to continue down this path for our careers, or that some simply joined that all-school show in 9th grade and have found a passion for theater as an extracurricular; it is such a connected group. It’s a bond that has gifted me friends I’m positive I’ll stay close with for the rest of my life. I’ll never forget when we sang and danced to our hearts' content at the ABBA tribute concert; pure joy radiated off of me and my friends as we had been in our school's production of Mamma Mia a few months prior. It was a perfect combo of reminiscing of the show that made us friends, while also making new memories. Beyond even that, my recent “epiphany” is that being onstage allows me to express myself. Cliche as it sounds, theater acts as my outlet. I’m personally someone who keeps my emotions closer to my chest—until I’m onstage. I often think about how different a person I would be without theater in my life. It makes up a huge part of who I am. It is quite literally the emotional aspect of my identity. I also find that in addition to musical theater being an emotional expression for me, it also serves as a motivation. I could easily say that so and so’ amazing voice or incredible soundtrack gets me out of bed every morning, and to a certain extent that’s true. I would be lying if I said I didn’t get giddy every time I hear that haunting harmony, or that oh-so-perfect swell of music, or get enraptured when the lights begin to dim and I’m ready to watch a show. My desire to pursue a musical theater BFA in college was cemented when I was chosen to be a finalist at the Jerry Herman Awards. I made friends there instantly based on the fact that I had a sense of “knowing” and respecting the other person. It wasn’t just the joy that came with performance but the focussed attitude amongst everyone. “Motivation follows action” is a phrase that has come to represent my exact feelings; if you put me in a room with talented creative people who agree that musical theatre is their calling, a light goes off inside me. I strive to be better, not out of competition, but out of collaboration.