“,,, It’s not how hard you can hit, it’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward! That's how winning is done!” Sylvester Stallone That quote from “Rocky Balboa” would play on the radio when my dad would take me to school at about 6 am. It has proved to be true for me in many different ways. I have learned many lessons in my life so far. These life lessons I believe have become the foundations that have helped me drive forward to the successes up to this point and continue to propel me towards success. I’ve learned to forgive and not take things personally. There have been times when I’ve been disappointed, bullied, and shunned. This has happened to me to extremely close people. When it happened to me in elementary school, I learned to shift my despair into my art. I played lead roles in dance performances and theater plays that also dealt with hard, traumatic subjects. My pain made me a better performer. I also made new friends who supported me. Later, the same friends that had shunned me came back into my life apologetically. I was able to forgive them and become friends once more but now with new strength and boundaries. Forgiving was important for me to let go and move on. I was able to become stronger because of the experience. I’ve learned to be self-reliant. I have learned the most important relationship is with myself. I have been fortunate to have made many close friends and I enjoy collaborating and working with others, but I also know that the only person ultimately responsible for my future is me. The more independent and strong I become, the better I interact with others. I’ve learned to be adaptable and versatile. Sometimes things don’t always work out the way we plan. When things happen beyond my control, I have learned to find new approaches to accomplish my goals. I am not afraid to try new things. I’ve learned to take care of my health. I know that when things get overwhelming, the only way that I will survive is to take care of my mental and physical health. I have had to learn to overcome several health issues. I set time aside to exercise, eat healthy food, and get the rest I need to continue. I’ve learned to take risks and push the limits. The successes that I have had so far have come from me stretching outside of my comfort zone and putting myself out there where I am vulnerable. That is how I was able to get into my school, win a national acting competition, produce an original album, and get a lead role in a legitimate independent movie. I am not afraid to push the boundaries and take risks because I know it is the way I will make the most progress.. Success means different things to different people. To me, success is being able to create art and stories that move people. Twenty years from now, I hope to have created a body of work that stirs people’s emotions and makes them think differently about the world. When I have been beaten down by toxic relationships, health issues, insecurity, and fear, I have learned to just keep my eyes on the road that I have set for myself and put one foot in front of the other. Most of all, I have learned to get back up again, dust off, and keep moving forward.

I am not afraid to be different and buck the system, especially when it is less than just. The interesting thing about humans is that we all have the power of free will. Of course, there are laws established in every society or country, but they were all established by humans themselves, and therefore, can be overridden if necessary. As an artist in the south, as well as a woman of mixed race from Latin and Caribbean heritage, I have personally experienced prejudice and isolation from within the high-society, private, all-girls school where I attended kindergarten through 10th grade. I had to learn to overcome these obstacles and turn my differences into advantages and superpowers. I am not afraid to speak up against injustice nor afraid to express myself in ways that make me stick out. My vehicle for expression was through the performing arts. In the end, I broke the chains of social class and persecution to open new opportunities and forge lifelong friendships. It wasn't always easy, and not everyone jumped on board, but it was worth it to be true to myself. I believe it is important to understand that we can never fully be tied down by each other just because some of us have titles that others don’t. Of course, regulations are necessary to defeat anarchy, however total control is somewhat impossible/unethical. As a global community, we must admit we are not gods amongst serfs, but one people. That is step one. Maya Angelou once gave the advice: “Tell the truth, to yourself and the children.” This is a statement I wish to share with the rest of the world who has not heard it. I believe that honesty is a high form of respect and bravery. As a young woman raised in a patriarchal society, I have learned the gentle art of nurturing others. I have grown to master caretaking of the sick, weak, and emotional. I believe this tool when balanced is useful in a community and I enjoy being of help to those who ask for me. However, I have found that the most impactful way to help others is through inspiration. Inspiration is the key to forming a powerful bond with someone else while not becoming codependent or manipulated. It deals with the acknowledgment of individuality between the two groups, how they are their people and yet have connected in this one moment to impact each other. Inspiration is a way to express seeing someone else’s struggle and giving them ways to overcome it, while not interfering. Inspiration is a choice. Every time I overcome some obstacle, I learn a lesson about resilience. I do not shield my vulnerability, but share it through my art. I hope that I can share some part of my struggles to lift the spirits of those around me. I once had a friend in middle school who was suffering with her self-esteem and self-worth. There did not seem to be anything that could lift her out of her emotional stupor. So, I wrote a song for her with lyrics to show her beauty from within. When I performed it for her, a flash of brilliance returned to her tearful eyes. At that moment, they were not tears of sadness, but of happiness and gratitude. Channeling my challenges through my art is my way of helping myself and my community.

I grew up between the Ashley and Cooper rivers in the historic southern city of Charleston, SC. It is the city where four signers of the United States Constitution once lived. Back when English settlers were first arriving in the Americas, a man named John Locke, who worked under Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, wrote a paper reviewing his theory on a subject he called “Natural Rights.” Locke claimed these rights to be our right to life, liberty, and property. These three things he and Cooper were giving to those who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to the birthplace of my grandparents in Barbados and then to this newly founded English colony of Carolina. The people who answered this request in making a new life here were those who were ostracized in their homeland by people who opposed their natural right to freedom of religion. These were people like the Irish, the Jews, the French Huguenots, and more. They responded to their guarantee of life and freedom as well as a patch of land to call their own. There were so many times in history when the idea of natural rights was called to those in pain with open arms and comfort. To have even one of these three necessary things taken from someone is to make them less than human in a way. In our current circumstances, there are still examples of the challenge against these natural rights that restrict our freedoms. As an artist in the south, as well as a woman of mixed race, I have personally experienced, and still experience, the restraint of at least one of the three natural rights: liberty. My family, who are of Latin and Caribbean descent, has faced the hatred of many in this country towards our culture and our people who scramble from one bad place to another, in search of land they can call home. They searched for a place where they could finally relax, and tend to their families without the fear of starvation, poverty, or death. However, many of us are not met with that kindness here, and we cannot find the liberty or property to claim a home, and therefore, we are prevented from the creation of a new life. Instead, the ideas of others are forced onto us simply by opinions rather than facts. As a southern artist, I wish to spread awareness of my concern for my family, my culture, and my community. In this current political climate, the need to speak out for justice is great. I intend to do so throughout my career. I do not believe that a society can ever be truly free if we do not stand up for truth and justice against the barbaric terrain plagued with anarchy. However, I believe the meaning and feeling of freedom can be felt deeper in a society that abides by at least a few simple rules, or in this case, rights. The natural rights to life, liberty, and property were just the beginning of the most important foundation for how a respected community could be built. The Bill of Rights was written into our country’s constitution to ensure that other important rights would be granted to the people of our “free” society. The right to free speech is now in peril. Of course, people will have their opinions of others and they will have the freedom to express them. However, that right is given to all members of a society, where the judge can look at the judged and still respect their needs rather than rob them of their human dignity.

From the time I was a little girl, I was encouraged to do what I could to contribute to my community. My dad encouraged me to bake cookies and write “thank you” notes to people that often don’t get recognized for their services like firemen, mailmen and women, and garbage collectors. We would make it a point to clean up trash and litter when we passed it in the street and throw it in a receptacle. We would participate in beach and river sweeps to clean solid waste pollution that could harm people and wildlife. We would also bring gifts to kids at the foster care centers during the holidays. At the beginning of my high school years, I helped underserved children to learn to read. My school partnered with another school from an underserved part of town to help boost literacy rates through a program called: “Reading Partners”. Most of the students came from communities of color. I would help read to the elementary school students after school so they would develop a love for reading and literature. Most of the students did not have the opportunity to have books read to them. This also helped create a bond between our different cultures. Throughout the pandemic and before, I volunteered to work with my dad at a “pay-what-you-can” cafe called: “Destiny Community Café”. This café provided free or low-cost meals to underserved communities in need. It was run by a wonderful lady of local “Gullah” & “Geechee” culture who had grown up here. We helped her chop vegetables and prepare food. We also would help deliver food to retirement homes, homeless shelters, senior centers and other places where people had a difficult time accessing nutritious food. Community service makes me happy to benefit not only me but also the community. I feel like I made some sort of an impact. However minuscule that progress is, it shows that there are people that care and are willing to go out of their way to volunteer and make a difference to help others for the greater good. I intend to do it for the rest of my life. I don’t need credit. It is about knowing that I am doing something for the community. It also helped bring my family closer together by participating in a shared activity with purpose. It is important to give back to the community for many reasons. If everyone provided even just a little bit, the world would become a better place to live. There would be less conflict and more understanding if people showed appreciation for each other. This would help things change for the better. It helps to break down racial and economic barriers when you make the effort to serve communities of people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Just by showing up, you are building trust and breaking down stereotypes. During the pandemic, many people volunteered at medical facilities to help relieve some of the burdens on healthcare workers. There was a greater demand to meet the needs of the community at that time. The volunteers were helping provide important services and helping the workers both physically and mentally. Community service helps bring people together at a time when we are getting more polarized. When you are providing for someone else, you are also providing for yourself a feeling of purpose. You are also helping to make your community more loving and being a positive role model. Giving is receiving!

I found my artistic passion in performing live in the theater. It was through performing that I was able to deal with my feelings, find my wings and excel. My experiences around artists showed me how one can harness emotions and impact society through creative expression. As a performer, I have been taught about the importance of what my job can mean to an audience. Many teachers have told me of the effect that performance, from a song to a play, can have on an audience’s spirit, and how we must put our egos aside to deliver a story to others emotionally. I find art to be very healing. Sometimes, when most unexpected, art forms bring light to conflicts in our personal lives and give us solutions to bring us out of them. At times, the conflict may be internal grief, or it is confusion, miscommunication, guilt, and more. But somehow, art can show us that we are not alone in an issue, and maybe even tell us how to fix it. Ever since I first realized how much I could help others through art, it gave me further motivation to keep creating. I want to help others through an artistic format. I want to help them heal, release, make amends, laugh, and smile at the creation of life that art promotes. I believe that art has the power to change people’s minds, start conversations, and allow people to reflect on their own lives. It can bring communities together and build relationships. I want to use art in all forms to speak out on the conflicts within ourselves as well as the conflicts of the world. I want to get people to think, and see life as it is as well as what it could be. I want to use art as a means to move people, to motivate them to better themselves, and their community, and further better the world. Art can do all of these things at once, to make an audience’s heart flutter and their heads rush. Ever since I could first stand I would be on a stage. I would dance on stage with my father’s band as a baby, perform in ballets and piano recitals, and eventually act in plays and musicals. My parents were a huge impact on my artistic development and I am very grateful that they helped me discover my passion and supported me in fulfilling it. I adore how loving it is and how much it has changed me and helped me grow. I love how much I use the gifts it gives me to connect with others and spread love and kindness as much as I can. I have discovered how much I want to be a healer for others, and my spirituality has helped me find it. A teacher, as well as a life guide to me, often tells me that “we actors are the last of the shaman.” By this, he means we are our own priests and priestesses in our own methods of spirituality on stage. The theater is our church and the audience is in some ways coming for enlightenment or penance. The actor can channel the spirit of a character through their body. It can be moving to those who witness it. The actor has the power to make an audience laugh, cry, realize faults or failures, and more. I never noticed until then how much the significance of theater truly meant to me. I enjoy performing so much that I don't consider it work. It is just what I am motivated to do.

Ever since I could first stand I would be on a stage. I would dance on stage with my father’s band as a baby, perform in ballets and piano recitals, and eventually act in plays and musicals. My parents were a huge impact on my artistic development and I am very grateful that they helped me discover my passion and supported me in fulfilling it. There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up mixed-race with parents from South America and the Caribbean and living in a high-society, southern city. I am inspired to express these stories and others that are conjured up in my vivid imagination as well as help other people express themselves through the performing arts to make the world a more vibrant and interesting place. Creating stories and living through them is beautiful to me. Acting is just another form of storytelling. It can vividly move people just like a good book. Theater and film can spread powerful messages and educate people as well as stir them emotionally. The theater has always been super moving. It helps me think about my life, the world and how we live. Being on stage changes my perspective on a lot of things. We learn as actors to let go of judgment of our characters. It makes us better people because we can see all facets of people through the roles we play. Theater tends to teach a lot of good life lessons for the actor and the audience. This can impact society because art always does. Whether it is a small or large impact, it still can spread like ripples that rock the audience with powerful feelings. I have always been a spiritual person. It has helped me grow and discover myself, be kind to all things, and find my passions. There is an unspoken connection to creativity in the spiritual world. Both my artistic endeavors and my spirituality have found themselves in similar places that I had never realized until very recently. A teacher, as well as a life guide to me, often tells me that “we actors are the last of the shaman.” By this, he means we are our own priests and priestesses in our own methods of spirituality on stage. The theater is our church and the audience is in some ways coming for enlightenment or penance. The actor can channel the spirit of a character through their body. It can be moving to those who witness it. The actor has the power to make an audience laugh, cry, realize faults or failures, and more. I never noticed until then how much the significance of theater truly meant to me. Was I called to the stage just because I found joy in it or was I called for something deeper? Regardless of its calling, it has helped me and healed me in more ways than one. I have found a community that accepts me and that teaches me every day, a passion for life that grows stronger by the hour, and a love for the world and its people. This is a love so strong it radiates through an auditorium.

From the time I was a little girl, I was encouraged to do what I could to contribute to my community. My dad encouraged me to bake cookies and write “thank you” notes to people that often don’t get recognized for their services like firemen, mailmen and women, and garbage collectors. We would make it a point to clean up trash and litter when we passed it in the street and throw it in a receptacle. We would participate in beach and river sweeps to clean solid waste pollution that could harm people and wildlife. We would also bring gifts to kids at the foster care centers during the holidays. At the beginning of my high school years, I helped underserved children to learn to read. My school partnered with another school from an underserved part of town to help boost literacy rates through a program called: “Reading Partners”. Most of the students came from communities of color. I would help read to the elementary school students after school so they would develop a love for reading and literature. Most of the students did not have the opportunity to have books read to them. This also helped create a bond between our different cultures. Throughout the pandemic and before, I volunteered to work with my dad at a “pay what you can” cafe called: “Destiny Community Café”. This café provided free or low-cost meals to underserved communities in need. It was run by a wonderful lady of local “Gullah” “Geechee” culture who had grown up here. We helped her chop vegetables and prepare food. We also would help deliver food to retirement homes, homeless shelters, senior centers and other places where people had a difficult time accessing nutritious food. I also use my major in the "Art" part of STEAM to make an impact on social issues that I am passionate about. I hope to make a positive impact by actively serving and telling stories of the people and experiences. The arts can have an emotional influence on people to think about making changes that can help people and the environment. Community service makes me happy to benefit not only me but also the community. I feel like I made some sort of an impact. However minuscule that progress is, it shows that there are people that care and are willing to go out of their way to volunteer and make a difference to help others for the greater good. I intend to do it for the rest of my life. I don’t need credit. It is about knowing that I am doing something for the community. It is important to give back to the community for many reasons. If everyone provided even just a little bit, the world would become a better place to live. There would be less conflict and more understanding if people showed appreciation for each other. This would help things change for the better. It helps to break down racial and economic barriers when you make the effort to serve communities of people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Just by showing up, you are building trust and breaking down stereotypes. Community service helps bring people together at a time when we are getting more polarized When you are providing for someone else, you are also providing for yourself a feeling of purpose. You are also helping to make your community more loving and being a positive role model. Giving is receiving!

From the time I was a little girl, I was encouraged to do what I could to contribute to my community. My dad encouraged me to bake cookies and write “thank you” notes to people that often don’t get recognized for their services like firemen, mailmen and women, and garbage collectors. We would make it a point to clean up trash and litter when we passed it in the street and throw it in a receptacle. We would participate in beach and river sweeps to clean solid waste pollution that could harm people and wildlife. We would also bring gifts to kids at the foster care centers during the holidays. At the beginning of my high school years, I helped underserved children to learn to read. My school partnered with another school from an underserved part of town to help boost literacy rates through a program called: “Reading Partners”. Most of the students came from communities of color. I would help read to the elementary school students after school so they would develop a love for reading and literature. Most of the students did not have the opportunity to have books read to them. This also helped create a bond between our different cultures. Throughout the pandemic and before, I volunteered to work with my dad at a “pay what you can” cafe called: “Destiny Community Café”. This café provided free or low-cost meals to underserved communities in need. It was run by a wonderful lady of local “Gullah” “Geechee” culture who had grown up here. We helped her chop vegetables and prepare food. We also would help deliver food to retirement homes, homeless shelters, senior centers and other places where people had a difficult time accessing nutritious food. Community service makes me happy to benefit not only me but also the community. I feel like I made some sort of an impact. However minuscule that progress is, it shows that there are people that care and are willing to go out of their way to volunteer and make a difference to help others for the greater good. I intend to do it for the rest of my life. I don’t need credit. It is about knowing that I am doing something for the community. It is important to give back to the community for many reasons. If everyone provided even just a little bit, the world would become a better place to live. There would be less conflict and more understanding if people showed appreciation for each other. This would help things change for the better. It helps to break down racial and economic barriers when you make the effort to serve communities of people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Just by showing up, you are building trust and breaking down stereotypes. During the pandemic, many people volunteered at medical facilities to help relieve some of the burdens on healthcare workers. There was a greater demand to meet the needs of the community at that time. The volunteers were helping provide important services and helping the workers both physically and mentally. Community service helps bring people together at a time when we are getting more polarized When you are providing for someone else, you are also providing for yourself a feeling of purpose. You are also helping to make your community more loving and being a positive role model. Giving is receiving!

I found my passion in the performing arts. It was through writing and performing that I was able to deal with my feelings, find my wings and excel. My experiences around artists showed me how one can harness emotions and impact society through creative expression. It also showed me it was possible to earn a living if you work hard and pursue it with passion, dedication and innovation. I have been immersed in the arts since I was a child. My mother is a painter and my father is a musician. My childhood was always around live music, art, dance, theater and movies. I learned to play piano at three years of age and composed and performed my songs growing up. I also performed in numerous theatrical, choir and dance performances. I especially enjoyed writing and telling stories through the arts. There are many personal endeavors that I am currently involved in. I write plays and short films. I also write and perform music. I have written over 15 original songs. I have recently recorded 5 to be released on streaming services. I also played guitar, ukulele, and piano and sang on the recordings. . Creating stories and living through them is beautiful to me. Theater and music can spread powerful messages and educate people as well as stir them emotionally. They help me think about life and the world. Theater and film tend to teach a lot of important life lessons and influence society. Whether it is a small or large impact, it still can spread ripples that artistically move people. There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up mixed-race with parents from South America and the Caribbean and living in a high-society, southern city. I am inspired to express these stories and others that are conjured up in my vivid imagination as well as help other people express themselves through various art forms to make the world a more vibrant and interesting place. I have vigorously pursued my passion for the performing arts. I had to focus and put forth the effort to be one of the 14 drama students that were selected to attend the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities out of hundreds of students that auditioned throughout my state. Attending this intense boarding school that challenges students academically and artistically has helped me to learn how to manage my time wisely. I was also one of 18 finalists in the country to be selected through the YoungArts competition, which identifies the most accomplished young artists and provides them with creative and professional development opportunities throughout their careers. I enjoy creating art and telling stories so much that I don't consider it to work. It is just what I am motivated to do. I am happy to collaborate with a small group on independent projects or to work on a large project with a studio or company. I just want to be creating non-stop! I intend to fully immerse myself into my career as a performing artist and writer so I can continuously create a body of work that inspires people throughout my life and beyond. None of it would be possible without financial support from groups who see the value in this work.

From the time I was a little girl, I was encouraged to do what I could to contribute to my community. My dad encouraged me to bake cookies and write “thank you” notes to people that often don’t get recognized for their services like firemen, mailmen and women, and garbage collectors. We would make it a point to clean up trash and litter when we passed it in the street and throw it in a receptacle. We would participate in beach and river sweeps to clean solid waste pollution that could harm people and wildlife. We would also bring gifts to kids at the foster care centers during the holidays. At the beginning of my high school years, I helped underserved children to learn to read. My school partnered with another school from an underserved part of town to help boost literacy rates through a program called: “Reading Partners”. Most of the students came from communities of color. I would help read to the elementary school students after school so they would develop a love for reading and literature. Most of the students did not have the opportunity to have books read to them. This also helped create a bond between our different cultures. Throughout the pandemic and before, I volunteered to work with my dad at a “pay what you can” cafe called: “Destiny Community Café”. This café provided free or low-cost meals to underserved communities in need. It was run by a wonderful lady of local “Gullah” “Geechee” culture who had grown up here. We helped her chop vegetables and prepare food. We also would help deliver food to retirement homes, homeless shelters, senior centers and other places where people had a difficult time accessing nutritious food. Community service makes me happy to benefit not only me but also the community. I feel like I made some sort of an impact. However minuscule that progress is, it shows that there are people that care and are willing to go out of their way to volunteer and make a difference to help others for the greater good. I intend to do it for the rest of my life. I don’t need credit. It is about knowing that I am doing something for the community. Volunteering helped me to break down racial and economic barriers. When you make the effort to serve communities of people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds you build trust and shatter stereotypes. I come from a family of immigrants who work hard, but do not have the financial resources necessary to pay the high cost of higher education. My mother escaped the political horrors of Venezuela and married my father who came from the Caribbean. They instilled a work ethic in me and the important value of contributing to the community even when you do not have much. It was a struggle for them to pay for parts of the tuition. We also suffered financial difficulties when a hurricane pushed a tree onto our house. I continue to relentlessly apply for scholarships and work side jobs so that I can pursue my dream of higher education. Without financial aid, it could never happen. I am always appreciative of everything I receive and intend to put it to good work so I can give back to my community and perhaps help others with their dreams.

As an artist in the south, as well as a woman of mixed race, I have personally experienced, and still, experience social challenges. Art is the mechanism that I use to shake the restraints of archaic thoughts in society and send emotional ripples through those who can be reached so that I can influence a brighter future. I grew up in the historic southern city of Charleston, SC. It is the city founded by social reformers where four signers of the United States Constitution once lived. It was a place where people fled persecution and came for the promise of a better life. It was also a place that once built an economy on the cruel exploitation of others. My mother fled the political horrors of Venezuela and my dad's family is from the Caribbean. Many of my ancestors faced hatred towards our culture and our people and had to scramble from one place to another in search of land they could call home. I wished to spread awareness of my concern for my family, my culture, and my community. There was a time when I felt free enough to do this, however, there is no reluctance in the current political climate due to my skin color and restrictive laws being implemented in our state. I had to learn to overcome these obstacles and push forward regardless of the consequences. I found my passion in the performing arts and film. It was through writing, filmmaking and performing that I was able to deal with my feelings, find my wings and excel. My experiences around artists showed me how one can harness emotions and impact society through creative expression. It also showed me it was possible to earn a living if you work hard and pursue it with passion, dedication and innovation. Community service has always been important to me. At the beginning of my high school years, I helped underserved children to learn to read. My school partnered with another school from an underserved part of town to help boost literacy rates through a program called: “Reading Partners”. Most of the students came from communities of color. I would help read to the elementary school students after school so they would develop a love for reading and literature. Most of the students did not have the opportunity to have books read to them. This also helped create a bond between our different cultures. Throughout the pandemic and before, I volunteered to work with my dad at a “pay what you can” cafe called: “Destiny Community Café”. This café provided free or low-cost meals to underserved communities in need. It was run by a wonderful lady of local “Gullah” or “Geechee” culture who had grown up here. We helped her chop vegetables and prepare food. We also would help deliver food to retirement homes, homeless shelters, senior centers and other places where people had a difficult time accessing nutritious food. These experiences have given me the materials to use my talents and emotionally impact the people who I can reach with my art. There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up in a high-society southern city as well as the stories of my ancestors from Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean that I would like to tell. Hopefully, it will help us create a better history than the one we inherited.

From the time I was a little girl, I was encouraged to do what I could to contribute to my community. My dad encouraged me to bake cookies and write “thank you” notes to people that often don’t get recognized for their services like firemen, mailmen and women, and garbage collectors. We would make it a point to clean up trash and litter when we passed it in the street and throw it in a receptacle. We would participate in beach and river sweeps to clean solid waste pollution that could harm people and wildlife. We would also bring gifts to kids at the foster care centers during the holidays. At the beginning of my high school years, I helped underserved children to learn to read. My school partnered with another school from an underserved part of town to help boost literacy rates through a program called: “Reading Partners”. Most of the students came from communities of color. I would help read to the elementary school students after school so they would develop a love for reading and literature. Most of the students did not have the opportunity to have books read to them. This also helped create a bond between our different cultures. Throughout the pandemic and before, I volunteered to work with my dad at a “pay what you can” cafe called: “Destiny Community Café”. This café provided free or low-cost meals to underserved communities in need. It was run by a wonderful lady of local “Gullah” “Geechee” culture who had grown up here. We helped her chop vegetables and prepare food. We also would help deliver food to retirement homes, homeless shelters, senior centers and other places where people had a difficult time accessing nutritious food. I also use my major in the "Art" part of STEAM to make an impact on social issues that I am passionate about. I hope to make a positive impact by actively serving and telling stories of the people and experiences. The arts can have an emotional influence on people to think about making changes that can help people and the environment. Community service makes me happy to benefit not only me but also the community. I feel like I made some sort of an impact. However minuscule that progress is, it shows that there are people that care and are willing to go out of their way to volunteer and make a difference to help others for the greater good. I intend to do it for the rest of my life. I don’t need credit. It is about knowing that I am doing something for the community. It is important to give back to the community for many reasons. If everyone provided even just a little bit, the world would become a better place to live. There would be less conflict and more understanding if people showed appreciation for each other. This would help things change for the better. It helps to break down racial and economic barriers when you make the effort to serve communities of people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Just by showing up, you are building trust and breaking down stereotypes. Community service helps bring people together at a time when we are getting more polarized When you are providing for someone else, you are also providing for yourself a feeling of purpose. You are also helping to make your community more loving and being a positive role model. Giving is receiving!

Having a diverse family from South America and the Caribbean instilled a work ethic in me towards learning and improving so I can use my experiences to make a positive impact. My dad's family is from the Caribbean and my mother escaped the horrors of political unrest in Venezuela. My grandfather is from Trinidad and my grandmother is from Barbados. They always stressed the importance of education. It meant a lot to them even though they did not have the opportunities that we have in the United States. My great-grandfather, TT Lewis, was a Bajan politician who pushed the government of Barbados to provide free secondary education for all the people of the island regardless of their race or economic status. When I visited my family in Trinidad and Barbados, they showed me that it doesn’t matter what you do or look like, you must continuously improve your mind to build a better understanding of the world. Your education is something no one can take away from you. I am currently an undergraduate student at an American University with a campus in Paris. I enjoy being in an atmosphere where I am surrounded by motivated people with similar pursuits as my own. This allows me and my fellow students the opportunity to motivate each other and grow together. In addition to developing academically, I hope to build strong relationships and network with people so we can support each other throughout our careers. I want to work hard and take care of myself, which I believe is as important as academic achievement. I believe stories have incredible power. I have fully immersed myself into my career as a performing artist, filmmaker and writer so I can continuously create and inspire people throughout my life. This is how I intend to make my impact on the world. I grew up in the historic southern city of Charleston, SC which sits between rivers named for social reformers of Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper and influenced by his secretary John Locke. As an artist in the south, as well as a woman of mixed race, I have personally experienced, and still experience, the restraint of at least one of the three natural rights described by John Locke: liberty. There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up in this high-society southern city as well as the stories of my ancestors from Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean that I would like to tell. Many of my ancestors faced hatred towards our culture and our people and had to scramble from one bad place to another in search of land they could call home. I wished to spread awareness of my concern for my family, my culture, and my community. There was a time when I felt free enough to do this, however, there is reluctance in the current political climate due to my skin color and restrictive laws being implemented in our state. I had to learn to overcome these obstacles. There are many personal endeavors that I am currently involved in. I write plays and short films. I also write and perform music. I plan to continue to grow my skills in dance and visual arts as well. There are many projects in these art forms that I intend to release to the public at some point in my career. I also want to contribute to my community and help others make their innovative ideas a reality.

“,,,It’s not how hard you can hit, it’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward! That's how winning is done!” Sylvester Stallone That quote has proved to be true for me in many different ways. I have learned many lessons in my life so far. These life lessons I believe have become the foundations that have helped me drive forward up to this point and continue to propel me towards success. There is no other place that could provide the same exposure and perspective to current racial and economic issues than the city of my childhood: Charleston, SC. My unique experiences growing up mixed-race with parents from South America and the Caribbean and living in a high-society, southern city have made me passionately aware of the challenges of social inequality and injustice. My family came from modest means. My mother’s family fled the horrors of the collapsing state of Venezuela and my father’s family came from the Island of Barbados. They worked hard to get me into a private school where many of my fellow students were the descendants of the wealthy plantation owners. I was one of the few Hispanic students. When I was twelve years old, nine people were brutally murdered in an historic African Methodist Episcopal church near my school after the congregation welcomed their assassin into their bible study. The victims' families forgave the unremorseful killer and their undeterred love brought thousands of residents of all races and religions to unite and march together in symbolic unity. This taught the power of forgiveness. There were times when I was disappointed, bullied, and shunned. This has happened to me by people that were extremely close. I learned to shift my despair into my art. My own personal pain made me a better performer. I also made new friends who supported me. Later, the same friends that had shunned me came back into my life apologetically. I was able to forgive them and become friends once more but now with new strength and boundaries. Forgiving was important for me to let go and move on. I was able to become stronger because of the experience. I’ve learned to be self reliant. I have learned the most important relationship is with myself. I have been fortunate to have made many close friends and I enjoy collaborating and working with others, but I also know that the only person ultimately responsible for my future is me. The more independent and strong I become, the better I interact with others. I’ve learned to take care of my health. I know that when things get overwhelming, the only way that I will survive is to take care of my mental and physical health. I have had to learn to overcome several health issues. I set time aside to exercise, eat healthy food, and get the rest I need to continue on. I’ve learned to take risks and push the limits. The successes that I have had so far have come from me stretching outside of my comfort zone and putting myself out there where I am vulnerable. I am not afraid to push the boundaries and take risks because I know it is the way I will make the most progress.. When I have been beat down by toxic relationships, health issues, insecurity, and fear, I have learned to just keep my eyes on the road that I have set for myself and put one foot in front of the other. Most of all, I have learned to get back up again, dust off, and keep moving forward.

Health in the mind and the body is the foundation to pursuing success gracefully. Throughout my entire life, I have been taught to eat healthy foods, exercise regularly, and practice healthy mindfulness. Even with this being drilled into me from a very young age, I still struggled with my health, especially in my adolescence, when I grew malnourished and easily dehydrated. My health has been something I often think about. Whether I am not properly sleeping, eating, or moving my body enough, when I find myself in a place of physical struggle, I go inward and listen to everything my body wishes to tell me. Something not many people notice is that our body is always communicating what it needs to us. With just a little quiet and an internal body scan, we can point out the tense areas of our bodies, the areas that need more help, what kind of nutrients we need to remain balanced and energetic, and more. With physical health, I keep myself on a regular movement, eating, and sleeping schedule, however, whenever I feel there is something lacking, I simply ask my body what it needs and it will tell me. Mental health is always on my mind. There are always problems occurring every day, whether they are big or small. I do my best to process and understand what circumstances in my life do to me emotionally and why. One way that I practice mental health is through journaling. I believe that journaling is a great form of meditation that also allows one to look back on their lives. Having a record of the past gives us a way to learn from our mistakes or prejudices against others in order to move on more gracefully in our present. When journaling, I tend to dissect every miniscule feeling I have and explore why I feel this way. Putting it all on paper helps me release it from weighing me down while also helping me realize more about myself and how I process the good and bad things that happen to me every day. From a mental health standpoint, I discover the true depth of my feelings as I go on, which gives me a clearer outlook on the way I go about my life. All of these practices are used to give me a clear and strong mind and body in order to stay focused and driven on the things I wish to do.

All through my life, I have experienced an obstacle concerning my own abilities. I learned the meaning of: “imposter syndrome”. I grew up in the historic, southern city of Charleston, South Carolina. My parents sacrificed greatly to send me to a prestigious, all-girl school where most of my fellow students came from affluent families that had been in the south for generations. It was always a struggle to overcome the feeling that I did not belong there, realize my self-worth and maintain my personal power. Due to this, I worked twice as hard and maintained fairly high grades. I found my passion in the performing arts. It was through writing, singing, dancing, playing music, and acting that I was able to deal with my feelings, find my wings and excel. I later researched and found the South Carolina Governor's School of the Arts and Humanities. I had to focus and work hard to audition and be one of the few drama students accepted from my state. I was so grateful to attend a school where I was immersed in creativity and surrounded by peers that shared my passion. The teachers pushed me and helped me grow. We had to overcome the adversity of the global pandemic, but we learned to adapt. There was so much love and pride towards what we were doing that inspired me deeply. I still suffered from self-doubt. Through acting and performing, I realized I had power within me and began to harness it. I went on to win a national YoungArt competition and spend an intense week virtually interacting with talented students and professionals from all over the country. The opportunity to continue my education on a higher level would be a huge help for me to continue my dream of making a positive impact on society through art. There are so many ways to use this gift as fertilizer for the growth of a new world. Art can teach. There are always lessons to be discovered in writing, theater, music, and more. Art can heal the wounded. Through these same words, sounds, and visuals, people can recognize their pains and even begin to nurture them until they go away. I also want to give back to my community and encourage others to follow their dreams. All the lessons I learn from life's challenges will be channeled into my artistic endeavors to entertain, educate, and inspire.

Music overall is something so compelling to a listener. It can change someone’s mood, enhance a mood, or be the secret ingredient to a perfect memory. Music makes people dance, laugh, cry, and feel something so intensely, understanding that somehow, through lyrics and musical verses, they are not alone. It is difficult to choose a singular song that inspires me. There are so many in several different genres that impact my inspiration in their own individual ways. Some inspire me to travel, to venture and explore the great lengths of the world, others inspire me to connect with the people I love or build a loving community wherever I may be, there are songs that inspire me to embrace myself, my femininity and my power. When I thought about all of these songs, there was one that I realized somehow fit into all of these categories while also including the feeling that I am somebody. That I matter and that I am not alone. However strange it may be, “The Imitation Game” composed by Alexander Desplat is an orchestral piece and the opening soundtrack to the film, “The Imitation Game” directed by Morten Tyldum. It is so beautifully composed that a listener feels their adrenaline rise, their breath deepen, and have a brilliant urge to fulfill every dream they have ever desired. This song inspires me every day to seek out my adventure while remaining true to who I am, being confident in my strength and my intelligence as well as my will to connect and help others. “The Imitation Game” reminds me to pursue my goals, take care of myself and the world around me, and know that “sometimes it is the very people that no one imagines anything of, who do the things no one can imagine.”

Generational wealth comes from making smart financial decisions early and staying on course with a plan that will then perpetuate financial stability beyond one's own lifetime. It comes from first leaning the keys to financial success, practicing them, and then teaching them to the next generation and encouraging them to pass on that knowledge. It can take a lot of time and effort to build wealth, but it also can be lost with just one bad decision. That is why it is important to not only learn smart techniques on how to earn, invest, and save, but it is also important to learn how to protect and avoid common pitfalls. In a world surrounded by marketing and sales techniques that pray on our emotions and follow our algorithms in order to get us to buy things we don't need, it is not always easy to avoid falling victim to consumer debt. I intend to stay focused, avoid debt, and continue to learn and practice the lessons that build wealth and do what I can to teach the next generation do the same. The most important personal finance lesson to learn is discipline. It takes discipline to earn more than you spend and invest the difference. You learn to control your finances early, or your finances will control you. Everything compounds overtime. I am searching for multiple ways to earn money, preferably from meaningful work I enjoy where I can use my talents and develop useful skills. I know that it is important to find ways to earn passive income and learn how to make money work for me. I also know it is important to develop specialized skills that are useful in the changing world. I am learning to create assets and market them. To control spending so I do not go into debt, it is important to budget. I am practicing certain spending disciplines such as: living within my means, tracking my expenses, and determining the difference between assets and liabilities. I plan to take 30% or more of what I earn to invest and insure for emergencies. I know I need to start investing early and be consistent. I only invest in things that I know something about and keep my investments diversified. I think long term and use unemotional math. To protect myself, I don't plan to keep all my “eggs in one basket”. I will put money aside to prepare for the unexpected. I am learning more about insurance, trusts, copyrights, trademarks, and patents. I consider money as just a tool to help live a happy, healthy life and pursue a meaningful purpose. The main idea is to discipline myself to make more than I spend and invest the difference.

When someone is growing up, they are thrust into experiences that shape their overall selves. Their character comes from these circumstances and stories that happen, especially in their youth. Both the good and the bad, shape someone for better or for worse. My experiences have developed a natural generosity and tendency inside me to help others in need while being self-aware enough to recognize when I am losing my own soul. These characteristics hold the greatest value to me. I have grown up with a need to take care of others. So, much so that I have sometimes neglected myself. Giving my love to other people is such an important thing to learn as a member of a community. However, learning to burn your own candle first before lighting that of another is absolutely imperative. One thing I have learned about myself, that took a while to discover, is how much power and strength I hold on my own that I have been giving away so freely. I learned that I can be my own person and nurture my own individuality rather than please others by becoming who they want me to be. It is so valuable to me that I make myself known as truly and uniquely as possible, rather than being seen as a projection in someone else’s mind. I believe that this lesson is hardly ever learned, especially in one’s adolescence, but in order to find those truly loyal to who you are, let it be known that you are made by yourself, and not somebody else’s mold. Generosity to me is a sacrifice without dire consequences. Generosity is when someone opens themselves to another and gives them what they need and desire. These things could help them heal, be happier, and fulfill tasks they couldn’t do before. Generosity is something that I have always felt derive from deep within my chest. It has a warm feeling once you act on it, and that feeling tinged with colors of light reds and pinks along with dusty gold, lasts for a while after. However, there is a difference between generosity and giving yourself up. That warm feeling only arrives when one feels deep down that the person they are giving to is deserving and worthy of the energy, time, and resources. Sometimes, unfortunately, there come people who leech off of one’s kindness, and therefore spoil generosity into a parasitic relationship. That is why it is imperative that one maintains the balance of being generous to oneself as well as others. We can protect ourselves while also bringing ourselves the same healing, happiness, and fulfillment that we give others with our generosity. You are also a human being that deserves your own love and kindness, why not give yourself the very same generosity?

My life experiences are what inspired me to pursue performing arts, film production and music in college and as a career. I have seen how music, theater and film can affect people. Performance art can spread powerful messages and educate people as well as stir them emotionally. They help others think about life and the world. Theater, music and film tend to teach a lot of important life lessons and influence society. Whether it is a small or large impact, it still can spread ripples that move people in an artistic way. Having a diverse family from the Caribbean really instilled a work ethic in me towards learning and improving. My grandfather is from Trinidad and my grandmother is from Barbados. They always stressed the importance of education. It clearly meant a lot to them even though they did not have the opportunities that we have in the United States. My great grandfather, TT Lewis, was a Bajan politician who pushed the government of Barbados to provide secondary education in the schools of the island. When I visited my family in Trinidad and Barbados, they showed me that it doesn’t matter what you do or look like, you must continuously improve your mind to build a better understanding of the world. Your education is something no one can take away from you. As a performer, I have been taught about the importance of what my job can mean to an audience. Many teachers have told me of the effect that a performance, from a song to a play, can have on an audience’s spirit, and how we must put our egos aside in order to deliver a story to others emotionally. I find art to be very healing. Sometimes, when most unexpected, art forms bring light to conflicts in our personal lives and give us solutions to bring us out of them. At times, the conflict may be internal grief, or it is confusion, miscommunication, guilt, and more. But somehow, art can show us that we are not alone in an issue, and maybe even tell us how to fix it. Ever since I first realized how much I could help others through art, it gave me further motivation to keep creating. I want to help others through an artistic format. I want to help them heal, release, make amends, laugh, and smile at the creation of life that art promotes. I believe that art has the power to change people’s minds, start conversations, and allow people to reflect on their own lives. It has the ability to bring communities together and build relationships. I want to use art in all forms to speak out on the conflicts within ourselves as well as the conflicts of the world. I want to get people to think, and see life as it is as well as what it could be. I want to use art as a means to move people, to motivate them to better themselves, their community, and further better the world. Art has the ability to do all of these things at once, to make an audience’s heart flutter and their heads rush.

I am a nature-loving, Hispanic woman, with roots in South American and the Caribbean who grew up in a small historic town of Charleston, South Carolina. My dream is to be a creator and a protector of the world. I’m an artist and I want to share that side of myself fully. I want to collaborate with people who think profoundly about the world in order to to express stories that move audiences in a powerful way. I want to help communities in peril. This is true whether it be communities of people or animals, I want to provide my help. I dream of leading in a way that can shape a better future for so many. I dream of making an impact so strong that it can swell in people’s hearts like a fire. Yet, there is still so much time in between those moments that I have left to spare. There are so many things that are still left to do. This is why my dreams aren’t carved in stone anymore. They are written in the sky for me to see every day, I still have one life to live, and my true dream for it is to live fully. I have learned from adversity and have become better because of it. All through my life, I have experienced an obstacle concerning my own abilities. I learned the meaning of: “imposter syndrome”. The feeling of not belonging or being worthy haunts from deep within me and often hampers me from fully pursuing my passions. I intend to overcome these irrational fears by absorbing it and then redirecting it deep into my artistic endeavors. It is through the process of formulating insecurities into works of film, writing, and music, that I will turn my handicap into an asset that will help lift others. In my day to day practice of creativity, I tend to use my imagination in different scenarios and create plots that fit within them. If there is a topic I am learning in class, or if there is a conversation I am having with friends that I find intriguing, I may come back to it in my head and create a fictional space in which this topic can thrive. I believe that art has the power to change people’s minds, start conversations, and allow people to reflect on their own lives. It has the ability to bring communities together and build relationships. I want to use art in all forms to speak out on the conflicts within ourselves as well as the conflicts of the world. I want to get people to think, and see life as it is as well as what it could be. I want to use art as a means to move people, to motivate them to better themselves, their community, and further better the world. Art has the ability to do all of these things at once, to make an audience’s heart flutter and their heads rush.

“,,,It’s not how hard you can hit, it’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward! That's how winning is done!” Sylvester Stallone That quote from “Rocky Balboa” has proved to be true for me in many different ways. I have learned many lessons in my life so far. These life lessons I believe have become the foundations that have helped me drive forward to the successes up to this point and continue to propel me towards success. My family came from modest means. My mother’s family fled the horrors of the collapsing state of Venezuela and my father’s family came from the Islands of the Dominican Republic and Barbados. Having a diverse family from the Caribbean really instilled a work ethic in me towards learning and improving. My family and my experiences have made me passionately aware of the challenges of social inequality and injustice. I intend to make my impact through my visual and performing arts. I’ve learned to forgive and not take things personally. There have been times when I’ve been disappointed, bullied, and shunned. This has happened to me by people that were extremely close. When it happened to me in elementary school, I learned to shift my despair into my art. I played lead roles in a dance performance and theater plays that also dealt with hard, traumatic subjects. My own personal pain made me a better performer. I also made new friends who supported me. Later, the same friends that had shunned me came back into my life apologetically. I was able to forgive them and become friends once more but now with new strength and boundaries. Forgiving was important for me to let go and move on. I was able to become stronger because of the experience. I’ve learned to be self reliant. I have learned the most important relationship is with myself. I have been fortunate to have made many close friends and I enjoy collaborating and working with others, but I also know that the only person ultimately responsible for my future is me. The more independent and strong I become, the better I interact with others. I’ve learned to be adaptable and versatile. Sometimes things don’t always work out the way we plan. When things happen beyond my control, I have learned to find new approaches to accomplish my goals. I am not afraid to try new things. Success means different things to different people. To me, success is being able to create art and stories that move people. Twenty years from now, I hope to have created a body of work that stirs people’s emotions and makes them think differently about the world.

I intend to fully devote myself to my career as a performing artist, filmmaker and writer so I can continuously create and inspire people throughout my life. I will immerse myself in a place where I can feel free to speak up about my learning, in constant search of knowledge and truth in order to broaden my own horizons. I will contribute to my community and help others make their innovative ideas reality.

My family came from modest means. My mother’s family fled the horrors of the collapsing state of Venezuela and my father’s family came from Dominican Republic and the Island of Barbados. They worked hard to get me into a private school where I was one of the few students of Hispanic descent. Many of my fellow students were the descendants of wealthy plantation owners that helped to build the 13 colonies and design the United States and then almost tore it apart in the American Civil War. It took a lot for me to find my place. I had to work extra hard and be resilient to endure. I was motivated by my heritage and the tremendous effort it took to get me a decent education. There is no other place that could provide the same exposure to the arts and give me the same perspective to current racial and economic issues than the city of my childhood: Charleston, SC. My family and my experiences have made me passionately aware of the challenges of social inequality and injustice. I intend to make my impact through my visual and performing arts. When I was twelve years old, nine people were brutally murdered in an historic African Methodist Episcopal church near my school after the congregation welcomed their assassin into their bible study. The victims' families forgave the unremorseful killer and their undeterred love brought thousands of residents of all races and religions to unite and march together in symbolic unity. After that tragic event, the Virginia confederate battle flag was finally removed from the capital of South Carolina. Other prominent Confederate monuments that had been erected to intimidate people of color were also removed. There are many more stories from my own unique experiences growing up mixed-race with parents from South America and the Caribbean and living in a high-society, southern city. I am inspired to express these stories and others that are conjured up in my vivid imagination as well as help other people express themselves through various art forms to make the world a more vibrant and equitable place. My family, school and volunteer activities in underserved communities of color as a reading tutor and as an assistant in a “Gullah” café exposed me to many cultural views that I would like to express through my stories and art. These experiences and others are part of what inspired me to pursue my artistry in college and as a career. I have seen how music, theater and film can affect people. Performance art can spread powerful messages and educate people as well as stir them emotionally. They help others think about life and the world. Theater, music and film tend to teach a lot of important life lessons and influence society. Whether it is a small or large impact, it still can spread ripples that move people in an artistic way. I am motivated to produce artistic works that make people think about their views and possibly prevent these tragedies..

As a performer, I have been taught about the importance of what my job can mean to an audience. Many teachers have told me of the effect that a performance, from a song to a play, can have on an audience’s spirit, and how we must put our egos aside in order to deliver a story to others emotionally. I find art to be very healing. Sometimes, when most unexpected, art forms bring light to conflicts in our personal lives and give us solutions to bring us out of them. At times, the conflict may be internal grief, or it is confusion, miscommunication, guilt, and more. But somehow, art can show us that we are not alone in an issue, and maybe even tell us how to fix it. Ever since I first realized how much I could help others through art, it gave me further motivation to keep creating. I want to help others through an artistic format. I want to help them heal, release, make amends, laugh, and smile at the creation of life that art promotes. I believe that art has the power to change people’s minds, start conversations, and allow people to reflect on their own lives. It has the ability to bring communities together and build relationships. I want to use art in all forms to speak out on the conflicts within ourselves as well as the conflicts of the world. I want to get people to think, and see life as it is as well as what it could be. I want to use art as a means to move people, to motivate them to better themselves, their community, and further better the world. Art has the ability to do all of these things at once, to make an audience’s heart flutter and their heads rush.

There is never just ‘one’ specific problem that the world faces at a time. There are so many things that occur on a daily basis that make it impossible for anyone to keep up with the obstacles, let alone get over them. The main theme in the problems of the world is the battle for total control. I believe this to be something so many people wish for, but none could ever possibly have. The interesting thing about humans is that we all have the power of free will. Of course, there are laws established in every society or country, but they were all established by humans themselves, and therefore, can be overridden if desired. The obstacles we face on this planet are mainly an attempt to restrict civilizations from their desired freedoms. We can see this in the devastation and claustrophobia of the Ukrainian war, in the Roe v. Wade debates, immigration, etc. I believe it is important to understand that we can never fully be tied down by each other just because some of us have titles that others don’t. Of course, regulations are necessary to defeat anarchy, however total control is somewhat impossible and unethical. As a global community, we must admit we are not gods amongst serfs, but one people. That is step one.

Every day, I apply creativity to my life in order to keep even the most mundane parts of my life interesting. In my day to day practice of creativity, I tend to use my imagination in different mundane scenarios and create plots that fit within them. If there is a topic I am learning in class, or if there is a conversation I am having with friends that I find intriguing, I may come back to it in my head and create a fictional space in which this topic can thrive. Rhythm can be found anywhere if you choose to listen. When I hear a nice rhythm or melody come effortlessly from my environment, it plays over and over in my head and sometimes, I add more to it mentally. I’ll create little tunes in my head for the day and sometimes, if they are really good, they come back to me later. My creative eyes and ears and other senses are always looking to find something to romanticize my life a little more. It is exciting to go about your day when you can look forward to the little surprises that could potentially lead to a great creative project.

A healthy mind and a healthy body is the foundation of any success! I have felt despair and bad habits creep into my life. One night, something happened that forced me to take notice of how I was treating my own health. A strange feeling of dizziness came over me, my skin turned white and I passed out on the stairs because of lack of hydration and exhaustion. It struck a nerve inside me that sparked an acute interest in how I was treating myself. After some research and conversations with professionals, I began to move my body more and eat foods that I knew would keep my energy high and long lasting. No matter what happens in life, I know I have to take care of myself. Keeping my thoughts clear, eating properly, and maintaining enough sleep will always be important. In order to think clearly, we must have healthy thoughts. The mind and the body are extremely important for creativity. Pressure from school and work are always present. It is in those times that I bring myself back to the basics. In order to function properly, I know I need to have enough sleep. In order to perform properly, I know I have to eat nutritious food and get enough exercise. I know I need time to rest and ease stress. It is my goal to maintain a healthy lifestyle my entire life. Health means many things. I am constantly working on my relationship with food and my relationship with myself. The people I surround myself with are also important to my overall health. I will take care of myself mentally and physically and catch myself before I fall.

Education is extremely important to me! My academic goals are to study hard and learn as much as I can to develop personally and professionally. I enjoy being in an atmosphere where I am surrounded by motivated people with similar pursuits as my own. This allows me and my fellow students the opportunity to motivate each other and grow together. In addition to developing academically, I hope to build strong relationships and network with people so we can support each other throughout our careers. I will immerse myself in a place where I can feel free to speak up about my learning, in constant search of knowledge and truth in order to broaden my own horizons. I wish to keep myself involved with my community and heal myself in hopes of helping my peers heal as well. I intend to fully devote myself to my career as a performing artist, filmmaker and writer so I can continuously create and inspire people throughout my life. I am happy collaborating with a small group or working on our own project or if I am hired to work on a project by a studio or company. I just want to be creating non-stop. There are many personal endeavors that I am currently involved in. I write plays and short films. I also write and perform music. I plan to continue to grow my skills in dance and visual arts as well. There are many projects in these art forms that I intend to release to the public at some point in my career. I enjoy creating art and telling stories so much that I don't consider it work. It is just what I am motivated by. I also want to contribute to my community and help others make their innovative ideas a reality.

There are many things that I believe the world needs to hear! We have fought each other, illness, injustice, and much more. One sentence to give to the world’s ears is too difficult a task to decide on my own. However, I have heard the words of many before me. With the help of one of them, I have found some words of advice that I believe are worth hearing. Maya Angelou once gave the advice: “Tell the truth, to yourself and to the children.” This is a statement I wish to share with the rest of the world who has not heard it. I believe that honesty is a high form of respect and bravery. The beauty behind honesty is there are so many ways to tell it without involving a lie. To tell the truth to yourself is to see the entire picture of every circumstance you come across. Understanding that there are many sides to one story. Though you may not understand another side’s justification, the truth acknowledges that it is still there. Telling the truth to the children is to allow them to grow. Children deserve beauty, and since they see it so fully in the world, we wish to postpone their introduction to pain. Though I think this way as well, I still believe the longer one forces a child’s innocence onto them, the more hurt they will eventually be. The truth should be given to the children who ask for it. Even though the truth can be dreadful, there’s a way to be honest without implying there’s only pain and suffering in the world. The truth, to us all, should be a lesson. A way to grow and a way to s truly see that we all suffer, but we are beautiful.

Most of the time, studying is a tedious, frustrating task. I have always had a hard time with it, especially as my years of education got harder and harder. However, I do not believe that studying is an impossible thing to accomplish. It is important in order to become a successful scholar in any kind of educational field. My favorite tactics for studying involve flashcards and memory exercises. I use a lot of online flashcard services that allow me to write down terms and definitions and study them in many formats. This tool allows me to write things down so that I rehearse them in my brain before executing the actual exercise. Now, I already have a head start before I dive in. Another tactic that has a similar effect, is an interactive recording of terms and definitions. I record myself saying a term, wait, then say the definition and move on. This allows me to hear the unit of terms so that they are already rehearsed in my mind.

I have wanted to go to the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities for Theater since I was in the seventh grade. When I had heard that there were summer programs for students in their first few years of high school, I quickly jumped in to sign up for these 2 week periods of intense training for the actor. Needless to say, I was still ignorant of the difficulty of the acting profession. I was still under the impression that it was a fun, recreational job. It was something I wanted to pursue, but I had thought it was as easy as showing up and speaking my recited lines. I was wrong! When the audition came, I had failed to prepare properly and was not accepted. Devastated, I refused to let this happen again. When the time came for me to apply to the residential high school program, I dove into as much training as I could. I sought second opinions, read plays front to back, and fully developed and understood my characters. When the audition came, I was prepared. A few months later, I was accepted! I believe that putting my ego aside and learning from my mistakes and ignorance is what brought me to this success. It was only then that I could stay driven and persistent to achieve a large goal in my life.

The most important personal finance lesson to learn is discipline. It takes discipline to earn more than you spend and invest the difference. You learn to control your finances early, or your finances will control you. Everything compounds overtime. I am searching for multiple ways to earn money, preferably from meaningful work I enjoy where I can use my talents and develop useful skills. I know that it is important to find ways to earn passive income and learn how to make money work for me. I also know it is important to develop specialized skills that are useful in the changing world. I am learning to create assets and market them. To control spending so I do not go into debt, it is important to budget. I am practicing certain spending disciplines such as: living within my means, tracking my expenses, and determining the difference between assets and liabilities. I plan to take 30% or more of what I earn to invest and insure for emergencies. I know I need to start investing early and be consistent. I only invest in things that I know something about and keep my investments diversified. I think long term and use unemotional math. To protect, I don't plan to keep all my “eggs in one basket”. I will put money aside to prepare for the unexpected. I am learning more about insurance, trusts, copyrights, trademarks, and patents. I consider money as just a tool to help live a happy, healthy life and pursue a meaningful purpose. The main idea is to discipline myself to make more than I spend and invest the difference.

Generosity to me is a sacrifice without dire consequences. Generosity is when someone opens themselves to another and gives them what they need and desire. These things could help them heal, be happier, and fulfill tasks they couldn’t do before. Generosity is something that I have always felt derive from deep within my chest. It has a warm feeling once you act on it, and that feeling tinged with colors of light reds and pinks along with dusty gold, lasts for a while after. However, there is a difference between generosity and giving yourself up. That warm feeling only arrives when one feels deep down that the person they are giving to is deserving and worthy of your energy, time, and resources. Sometimes, unfortunately, there come people who leech off of one’s kindness, and therefore spoil generosity into a parasitic relationship. That is why it is imperative that one maintains the balance of being generous to oneself as well as others. We can protect ourselves while also bringing ourselves the same healing, happiness, and fulfillment that we give others with our generosity. You are also a human being that deserves your own love and kindness, why not give yourself the very same generosity?

I grew up in many different environments. Many of these were nature based and all were different from each other. I grew up by beaches and estuaries, spent a great deal of my life in the Appalachian Mountains, and have explored the deserts, shores and forests of the West Coast. Nature has always been a safe space for me. I have always found myself wild amongst the life of the trees and rivers, listening to the birds and the rustle of little animals nearby. I love watching the sun rise and set, seeing the stars lit brilliantly in such a way that one would never see in a city. The earth and the sky together have loomed over me in all of these places, they made their presence powerfully known, unashamed. Of course, it’s intimidating to be in the presence of greatness like that, but it made me love the world more. I have spent a long time with people who were repulsed by nature, claiming the bugs and snakes could kill them just as much as running into a bear. While that can be true, I have always admired how nature truly wants safety and harmony above all else. It can defend itself and it can be terrifying if it chose to be, but I have found nature to be a sincere role model to my life by how harmonious and beautiful, yet strong and bold it is. Nature can be a place of peace and excitement, a vast mystery, and the most beautiful entity anyone could look up to.

The standard of the “American Dream” is a happy family of four living in a quaint suburban home with a white picket fence, a mother at home and a father at work, a brother and a sister in a good school and perhaps even a dog. I, however, do not believe this to be my own American Dream. The American way of life is so vast and different on so many accounts across the country, to have one simple dream of living for a population of such diverse people and circumstances seems unfair and inconsiderate to the greater population. There are three key things to what I believe should be considered the “American Dream”: love, loyalty, and passion. Love is what keeps us united in our hearts. It is what keeps us striving for joy and to give it to others. Love is the key to living your own kind of beautiful life. However, love does not mean it is necessary to start a family. Love is all around us and also within us. One can live a life of love on their own or with others. Loyalty is what keeps us united in our minds and in our bodies. It is not about remaining loyal to a higher power, or something that does not serve you or intend to. Loyalty in the “American Dream” is about seeing one another as equals and understanding that there is struggle all around us. We are all fighting for a better tomorrow, our ticket there is quicker to achieve together. Lastly, passion is what keeps us united to the task at hand. Passion keeps us on the path to the goal. We may have the love and the loyalty, but without our passion, how will we have the strength to persevere? The goal is not a singular one, but the goals of every individual. Overall, the goal of a community as large as this is about fulfilling peace or happiness in one’s life. It could mean monetary success, a job you love, a family you love, even a journey of exploration you refuse to finish. I believe the “American Dream” encourages our society to pursue our personal happiness, our personal passion. We are given the freedom to choose what we wish to do with our lives, and we were given the ability to find passion in our world that helps us strive for our own idea of greatness.

There are many things that I believe the world needs to hear. We have fought each other, illness, injustice, and much more. One sentence to give to the world’s ears is too difficult a task to decide on my own. However, I have heard the words of many before me. And with the help of one of them, I have found some words of advice that I believe are worth hearing. Maya Angelou once gave the advice: “Tell the truth, to yourself and to the children.” This is a statement I wish to share with the rest of the world who has not heard it. I believe that honesty is a high form of respect and bravery. The beauty behind honesty is there are so many ways to tell it without involving a lie. To tell the truth to yourself is to see the entire picture of every circumstance you come across. Understanding that there are many sides to one story. Though you may not understand another side’s justification, the truth acknowledges that it is still there. Telling the truth to the children is to allow them to grow. Children deserve beauty, and since they see it so fully in the world, we wish to postpone their introduction to pain. Though I think this way as well, I still believe the longer one forces a child’s innocence onto them, the more hurt they will eventually be. The truth should be given to the children who ask for it. And even though the truth can be dreadful, there’s a way to be honest without implying there’s only pain and suffering in the world. The truth, to us all, should be a lesson. A way to grow and a way to see- truly see- that we all suffer, but we are beautiful.

When someone is growing up, they are thrust into experiences that shape their overall selves. Their character comes from these circumstances and stories that happen, especially in their youth. Both the good and the bad, shape someone for better or for worse. I have grown up with a need to take care of others. So, much so that I have found myself neglecting myself. Giving my love to other people is such an important thing to learn as a member of a community, however learning to burn your own candle first before lighting that of another is absolutely imperative. One thing I have learned about myself, that took a while to discover, is how much power and strength I hold on my own that I have been giving away so freely. I learned that I can be my own person and nurture my own individuality rather than please others by becoming who they want me to be. It is so valuable to me that I make myself known as truly and uniquely as possible, rather than being seen as a projection in someone else’s mind. I believe that this lesson is hardly ever learned, especially in one’s adolescence, but in order to find those truly loyal to who you are, let it be known that you are made by yourself, and not somebody else’s mold.

Music overall is something so compelling to a listener. It can change someone’s mood, enhance a mood, or be the secret ingredient to a perfect memory. Music makes people dance, laugh, cry, and feel something so intensely, understanding that somehow, through lyrics and musical verses, they are not alone. As someone who enjoys music as a whole, it is difficult to choose a singular song that inspires me. There are so many in several different genres that impact my inspiration in their own individual ways. Some inspire me to travel, to venture and explore the great lengths of the world, others inspire me to connect with the people I love or build a loving community wherever I may be, there are songs that inspire me to embrace myself, my femininity and my power. When I thought about all of these songs, there was one that I realized somehow fit into all of these categories while also including the feeling that I am somebody. That I matter and that I am not alone. However strange it may be, “The Imitation Game” composed by Alexander Desplat is an orchestral piece and the opening soundtrack to the film, “The Imitation Game” directed by Morten Tyldum. It is so beautifully composed that a listener feels their adrenaline rise, their breath deepen, and have a brilliant urge to fulfill every dream they have ever desired. This song inspires me every day to seek out my adventure while remaining true to who I am. “The Imitation Game” reminds me to pursue my goals, take care of myself and the world around me, and know that: “sometimes it is the very people that no one imagines anything of, who do the things no one can imagine.”

As a young woman raised in a patriarchal society, I have learned the gentle art of nurturing others. I have grown to master caretaking of the sick, weak, and emotional. I believe this tool when balanced is useful in a community and I enjoy being of help to those who ask for me. However, I have found that the most impactful way to help others is through inspiration. Inspiration is the key to forming a powerful bond with someone else while not becoming codependent or manipulated. It deals with the acknowledgment of individuality between the two groups, how they are their own people and yet have connected in this one moment to impact each other. Inspiration is a way to express seeing someone else’s struggle and giving them ways to overcome it, while not interfering. Inspiration is a choice. Every time I overcome some obstacle, I learn a lesson of resilience. I do not shield my vulnerability, but share it through my art. It is my hope that I can share some part of my own personal struggles to lift the spirits of those around me. I once had a friend in middle school who was suffering with her self-esteem and self-worth. There did not seem to be anything that could lift her out of her emotional stupor. So, I wrote a song for her with lyrics to show her beauty from within. When I performed it for her, a flash of brilliance returned to her tearful eyes. At that moment, they were not tears of sadness, but of happiness and gratitude. Channeling my personal challenges through my art is my way of helping myself and others.

The tragedies of life and my personal experiences are what drives me to create and express myself artistically. I grew up in a world of variety that I adopted into my life. I was raised in a multicultural home and my family and friends shared a common interest in spirituality and art. My mother’s family escaped the horrors of the political strife in Venezuela and my father’s family came from the Caribbean islands. We settled in Charleston, SC where I was exposed to the performing arts and culture of the southern US. Growing up with economic challenges and as one of only a few Latinx students in a high society southern city is what helped shape my perspective. I found the channel for my experiences and emotions in the performing arts. It was through music, dancing, singing, and acting that I learned to harness the intensity in myself and use it to move my audience. I now attend a performing arts school and intend to continue my studies in college and pursue a career that will allow me to create and perform art throughout my life. There has always been an inner calling for the arts in my life. I found it to be a place of release and yet there still is so much connection. A teacher of mine tells me “We are the last of the shamans. The theater is our church, where people come for a spiritual journey. We channel the souls of others into our being and release them in our temple, and those who watch connect with us spiritually and emotionally.” Ever since I had heard that, I understood why my passion was so strong. I work morning, noon, and night to help others find something within themselves through the ways of art. When I was in 9th grade, my life and the lives of my classmates were altered forever when the spirit of one of our close friends left the earth after her body was crushed in a terrible vehicle accident. She was such a bright soul, it was hard for me to come to terms that she had actually been taken from us. It took weeks of therapy in our school to finally believe that it happened so suddenly and unnecessarily. My heart aches when I think of the many families that have suffered such loss due to drunk driving accidents. Our family friend was killed when he was riding his bike. A drunk driver crashed into him and left him on the side of the road. He did not die from the impact of the crash, but actually drowned in a puddle. If only the driver would have called the fire department which was right up the street, he may have survived. I think about those incidents often. I have learned to redirect my grief into my art. Art is the vessel in which energy flows through me so I can touch the hearts of others who are suffering. It is what I do to survive. Yet, there is still so much time in between those moments that I have left to spare. So many things are still left to do. This is why my dreams aren’t carved in stone anymore. They are written in the sky for me to see every day, I still have one life to live, and my true dream is to live fully.

“,,,It’s not how hard you can hit, it’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward! That's how winning is done!” Sylvester Stallone That quote from “Rocky Balboa” would play on the radio when my dad would take me to school at about 6am in the morning. It has proved to be true for me in many different ways. I have learned many lessons in my life so far. These life lessons I believe have become the foundations that have helped me drive forward to the successes up to this point and continue to propel me towards success. I’ve learned to forgive and not take things personally. There have been times when I’ve been disappointed, bullied, and shunned. This has happened to me by people that were extremely close. When it happened to me in elementary school, I learned to shift my despair into my art. I played lead roles in a dance performance and theater plays that also dealt with hard, traumatic subjects. My own personal pain made me a better performer. I also made new friends who supported me. Later, the same friends that had shunned me came back into my life apologetically. I was able to forgive them and become friends once more but now with new strength and boundaries. Forgiving was important for me to let go and move on. I was able to become stronger because of the experience. I’ve learned to be self reliant. I have learned the most important relationship is with myself. I have been fortunate to have made many close friends and I enjoy collaborating and working with others, but I also know that the only person ultimately responsible for my future is me. The more independent and strong I become, the better I interact with others. I’ve learned to be adaptable and versatile. Sometimes things don’t always work out the way we plan. When things happen beyond my control, I have learned to find new approaches to accomplish my goals. I am not afraid to try new things. I’ve learned to take care of my health. I know that when things get overwhelming, the only way that I will survive is to take care of my mental and physical health. I have had to learn to overcome several health issues. I set time aside to exercise, eat healthy food, and get the rest I need to continue on. I’ve learned to take risks and push the limits. The successes that I have had so far have come from me stretching outside of my comfort zone and putting myself out there where I am vulnerable. That is how I was able to get into my school, win a national acting competition, produce an original album, and get a lead role in a legitimate independent movie. I am not afraid to push the boundaries and take risks because I know it is the way I will make the most progress.. Success means different things to different people. To me, success is being able to create art and stories that move people. Twenty years from now, I hope to have created a body of work that stirs people’s emotions and makes them think differently about the world. When I have been beat down by toxic relationships, health issues, insecurity, and fear, I have learned to just keep my eyes on the road that I have set for myself and put one foot in front of the other. Most of all, I have learned to get back up again, dust off, and keep moving forward.

There is no other place that could provide the same exposure to the arts and give me the same perspective to current racial and economic issues than the city of my childhood: Charleston, SC. My family and my experiences have made me passionately aware of the challenges of social inequality and injustice. I intend to make my impact through my visual and performing arts. There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up mixed-race with parents from South America and the Caribbean and living in a high-society, southern city. I am inspired to express these stories and others that are conjured up in my vivid imagination as well as help other people express themselves through various art forms to make the world a more vibrant and equitable place. My family, school and volunteer activities in underserved communities of color as a reading tutor and as an assistant in a “Gullah” café exposed me to many cultural views that I would like to express through my stories and art. My family came from modest means. My mother’s family fled the horrors of the collapsing state of Venezuela and my father’s family came from the Island of Barbados, (which is a little known island that had extensive historic ties to the Carolinas). They worked hard to get me into a private school where many of my fellow students were the descendants of the wealthy plantation owners that helped to build the 13 colonies and design the United States and then almost tore it apart in the American Civil War. I was one of the few students of Hispanic descent. When I was twelve years old, nine people were brutally murdered in an historic African Methodist Episcopal church near my school after the congregation welcomed their assassin into their bible study. The victims' families forgave the unremorseful killer and their undeterred love brought thousands of residents of all races and religions to unite and march together in symbolic unity. After that tragic event, the Virginia confederate battle flag was finally removed from the capital of South Carolina. Other prominent Confederate monuments that had been erected to intimidate people of color were also removed. These experiences and others are part of what inspired me to pursue my artistry in college and as a career. I have seen how music, theater and film can affect people. Performance art can spread powerful messages and educate people as well as stir them emotionally. They help others think about life and the world. Theater, music and film tend to teach a lot of important life lessons and influence society. We have seen what the musicals like "Hamilton" did for thousands of people. Whether it is a small or large impact, it still can spread ripples that move people in an artistic way. I am motivated to produce artistic works that make people think about their views and possibly prevent these tragedies.

Some ways I practice self-care is to listen to myself and my body, assess how I feel and evaluate what to do about it. I make sure I am eating healthy and getting enough exercise. Sometimes I may just need to take a break and rest. Other times I find it helpful to go for a walk or call a friend. Often, I can take a stressful situation and channel it into my art. One of the most impactful ways I have learned to take care of myself is through journaling. I made it a goal for myself to make one journal entry day for a month. I found that it caused me to journal more often and make longer entries. There are many things that I journal about that end up changing my life instantly. When I don't journal about the things affecting me, the things happening in my life don't get addressed or solved as quickly. Journaling is like having a therapist that you can tell anything to. It can't judge you, Journaling has been extremely impactful on my mental health. As soon as I journal about an issue happening in my life, I am able to figure out where the issue comes from and what to do about it.

Keeping the insatiable curiosity that I had as a child is how I keep my mind growing. I used to wander the maritime forest near my house and play on the beach marveling at fiddler crabs and wonderful creatures in the natural world. I also used to ask endless questions about why things are the way they are and let my imagination run free. There were books and shows that sparked questions about the endless possibilities of the universe. I tap into that curiosity every day to expanding my knowledge and think about things in different ways. I love to meet new people and explore new places and try to learn more about why they are what they are. I stay open to new ideas that are different from my own. I practice the art of listening and observing when I am with others. Different points of view help me to see a multidimensional picture of a situation or circumstance only possible when I am able to see through the eyes of others. I often do a lot of research when I am interested in a subject. This helps me in my art form as I try to climb into new characters or write a new story. I love to learn and hone skills through diligent practice. It is like getting lost in meditation when I am working on improving some part of myself. I do not mind being pushed and taking a little risk. Most of all, I take every setback or challenge in my life as an opportunity to learn, grow, and begin again more intelligently.

Patience is important in decision making, maintaining relations, teaching, and achieving success. Patience has helped me in stressful situations. There have been times when I was in potentially dangerous situations and had to stop and think before making a rash judgment that could have cost me my life or caused harm to others. I have learned to let emotions subside in order to make smart decisions. Patience with other people has been important to my relations. I have found it is not wise to immediately pass judgment on someone. You never know what that person is going through. I try to understand where they are coming from and see things from their point of view while not letting them take advantage of me. I would not have some of the friends I have today without patience. Patience is especially important when trying to teach. I have learned to be patient and try different ways to communicate so people can learn in their own manner. Patience is important when pursuing goals. It often takes many failures before you are successful at something. I have learned to enjoy the process. When I am trying to learn something new, I just keep trying until I get it. It is also important to think long-term and keep your eye on your goals. Things get in the way, setbacks happen, but you have to just keep showing up. I could never have achieved what I have so far if I had lost patience and given up early. Things don’t always go as fast as we may like. I know, in order to climb a mountain, you just have to take one step at a time and enjoy the scenery along the way.

Friendship is defined by behavior. There is a study of five love languages in which each person in the world demonstrates their love through one main quality out of the top five ways of displaying affection. These include, physical touch, quality time, acts of service, gift giving, and words of affirmation. Even though everyone has their preferences to the five love languages, I try to incorporate as much of the five in my affection to the people I truly love. I like to give hugs and hold my friends. I would brush their hair or paint their nails, rub their arm when they are upset and talking to me about it. Of course, not everyone likes the idea of physical touch being a love language, and that is something I respect. However, for those who do, I let them know I care about them through this. Quality time is always something interesting to share with someone you love because it is always very different from how you spend time with another. Sometimes, going out to eat, or grocery shopping, going to the gym, or merely spending some time reading in silence together can recharge your friend’s as well as your own energy. Acts of service could be as easy as holding someone’s bag for them or cleaning their room when they cannot. Gift giving could be as simple as a letter or a flower you found. Words of affirmation however, is the love language of inspiration. This display of affection motivates your loved ones to love themselves as much as you do. It makes them notice that someone else sees their beauty and potential, even when they do not. The five love languages can easily be incorporated into every relationship in one’s life, including the one with yourself.

My favorite piece of art is "April : (The Green Gown)" by Childe Hassam. It is displayed at the Gibbes Museum in Charleston, SC where I grew up. I did a presentation on it and later made a video about it for a class project. It is a wonderful painting with incredible emotion. I was captured by Hassam's use of colors and the amazing flowing dress from the nineteenth century. There was something that drew me into the expression on the woman's face that made it seem that there was something more going on. When I learned the story behind the painter and the painting, it really inspired me. Hassam was a dedicated painter in the early 1900s who was one the "Ten" artists who refused to display their work in juried exhibitions. He visited the city of my childhood during a period of time known as the Charleston Renaissance. Artist and writers flocked through the streets and establishments during that time capturing the culture of the era in numerous works of art. Hassam's painting was originally called, "April 1859". That was a special time to the artist and revealed why there seemed to be something special going on within the piece. The painting was of his mother, Rosa Hathorne Hassam in April of 1859. At that time, she would have been pregnant with Hassam who was born on October 17, 1859.

https://youtu.be/SAyo7ew9-6Y

I stay true to myself by looking inward and developing my most important relationship. There is a saying that claims: “We are actually three people: the person we think we are, the person that other people think we are, and the person we truly are”. I believe the first one is the most important, because it affects the other two. A healthy relationship with ourselves is the one that gives us confidence. As a result, we tend to treat ourselves and others better and gain respect. We tend to have a more positive outlook on life and become much more pleasant to be around. This is how we discover our personal power and not succumb to the pressures of society. Of course, the relationship one has with their power is constantly fluctuating. Some days, I realize I have fallen behind and I learn to build myself back up again. However, finding my own fire has attracted good opportunities into my life. It is one of the things I am most grateful to discover within myself for all the gifts it has given me as well as the growth I now feel. Discovering one’s power is something hard to find in all of its abundance. I still believe there is a lot to learn about my strength and how far it actually goes. There is still so much practice I have to follow through on maintaining that power, even on the bad days. But once you find a little, you can go on and on discovering more about yourself, how you truly interact and why. I believe finding one’s inner power can be one of the most beneficial self discoveries a person could undergo.

I was once given a character assignment concerning Judge Danforth from “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. I struggled with this character’s actions for a long time, thinking he would force his being to be heard. I was given the opportunity to embody this character and I struggled. I strained my voice attempting to speak over others through the dialogue of the play. Over this time, I found myself deep in an imposter syndrome. I did not feel like I connected or belonged to the role I was playing, I felt judged by everyone else in the room every time I tried to rehearse my part. There was a little voice in me that began to whisper: “You’re a fragile woman, you couldn’t understand what it would be like to be this character.” and no matter how many times I tried not to listen, that little voice still lingered. I was stopped by my teacher on multiple occasions. She would always ask me: “What makes you think Danforth has to try so hard to command a room?” “He doesn’t have to try!” I came to understand. That was when I had first found myself in a place of discovery. When I realized I had the power within me and I could use it without lifting a finger, I began to harness it. I began to set firm boundaries and gain genuine respect from my peers. My view of myself began to change. There had always been that power within me that I had always wanted to bring out, and now, I was beginning to see it manifest into my life. It was hard, it still is, but it has brought me to better places within my work, my relationships, and my inner being.

If you are going to be judged anyway, you might as well be yourself! It would be my honor to be able to influence people to harness their individual power to boldly be themselves regardless of whatever the perceived pressures of certain individuals in society. I believe everyone has a right to be here, otherwise they would not be. Discrimination is a result of ignorance. No one has a choice of the color of their skin or their ethnicity. People should not be shunned just because they may not be attracted to or love someone that does not fit the stereotype that others think they should. A person’s gender should not disqualify them or cause them to be treated as inferior if they are capable of doing the same job as competently or better than anyone else. My influence would be to get people to be kinder and more understanding of others and to themselves. I come from a multiracial, multicultural family. I have been exposed to many different people and different viewpoints. I do not understand why anyone would want to live their life hating others just because they are different. As long as people are not hurting one another, they should be able to live their own lives without persecution. I stand for loving yourself the way you are and not trying to be something else just because you want to fit in. It would be my intention to open the hearts and minds of others to bring more goodwill and understanding to the world.

I believe being independent is being able to free our minds in order for us to break the chains of bondage that suffocate our creativity so we can make our own mistakes and stand on our own. Henry David Thoreau once said: "Think for yourself, or others will think for you without thinking of you" It seems our whole life growing up, we have people telling us what to do. Even if it is with the best intentions, it can become stifling. I have always found that when I pursue the things that I am interested in, I thrive. I did not do well when I was required to take piano lessons with a teacher. When I started practicing on my own and learned songs I was interested in, I began to soar and enjoy the pleasure of playing music. I then taught myself how to play guitar and composed my own songs. My parents wanted me to learn to speak Mandarin, Chinese. I dreaded the lessons. When I chose to learn French on my own, I won gold in a regional French competition. The more independent I become, the stronger my own confidence becomes. My relationships become pure for the joy of sharing time together rather than any other necessity. In many ways, I am still dependent on others for support financially and otherwise. I also know that many restrictions are intended to keep us safe. I am grateful for the help I receive. I still look forward to the day when I can take care of myself to make my own way in the world and give back.

When things have become tough for me I have focused inward. I have gone through periods of time where I have become overwhelmed with fear and sadness. There have been times that things have become foggy and I don’t know what I am doing. Relationships in my life have become confusing and I have felt out of place. In those times, I have closed my eyes and breathed deeply and have concentrated on stillness. I have reminded myself that there is nothing permanent and change is inevitable. I have come to the realization that I am part of the universe just like the animals, trees, planets, and stars. I have called other friends and family and talked about my feelings just to air the emotions out and let them go. I have spent time observing nature and have thought about the insects, plants, and elements all flowing in a magical dance that we have no control over. By doing this, I have come back to recognize that the world is a wonderful place and I have once again become happy to be a part of it. I have come to learn that there will always be imbalances in life. We may feel let down by friends. We may become disappointed about where we are in life and question the choices we have made. In those moments, there are opportunities for self reflection and personal growth. My way of dealing with it is to accept what is happening, immerse myself in the emotions, and then let it out through expressive works of art.

My goal is to make a positive impact on the world through artistic expression. There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up mixed-race with parents from South America and the Caribbean and living in a high-society, southern city. I am inspired to express these stories and others that are conjured up in my vivid imagination as well as help other people express themselves through various art forms to make the world a more vibrant and interesting place. Creating stories and living through them is really beautiful to me. Acting and filmmaking is just another form of storytelling. They can move people in a vivid way just like a good book. Theater and film can spread powerful messages and educate people as well as stir them emotionally. Theater has always been super moving. It helps me think about my life, the world and how I live. Being on stage changes my perspective on a lot of things. We learn as actors to let go of judgment of our characters. It makes us better people because we are able to see all facets of people through the roles we play. Theater tends to teach a lot of good life lessons for the actor and the audience. This can impact society by opening the minds of the audience to new ideas. Whether it is a small or large impact, it still can spread like a ripple in the water and have an effect on people in an artistic way. Sharing the vulnerability of pain or joy with the world can move others so they do not feel so alone. It can change minds and open the eyes of the ignorant. Art is one of the first steps to societal realization, and thus, the first step to societal growth.

Sometimes dreams aren’t set in stone. Sometimes dreams are how you feel while you live and what you see and choose to make a memory. My dream is to be a creator and a protector of the world. I’m an artist and I want to share that side of myself fully. I want to create and collaborate with people who think profoundly about the world and move communities in a powerful way. I dream of leading in a way that can shape a better future. I dream of feeling pure joy at least for one moment of every day. I dream of being grateful for the family I have as well as the one I have created around me. I dream of falling in love and traveling the world, exploring and learning more about myself, people, and the mysteries that lie within every crevice of the planet. I dream of being soaked in my self-power and sharing growth and love to the world, to my community, and to every living thing that I pass. I dream of peace and kindness flowing through and all around me, of comfort and safety, and I dream of joyful screams and spontaneous adventures that can only happen once. Although I have dreams on what I wish to do with my life, my life is also walking hand in hand with me down this path. My main dream is to be able to look back at the adventure that my life has taken me through and smile. My dream is to be human in the most vibrant way. Fulfilling that dream can at times be difficult. All there is to it is to be as real to myself and others as possible.

Conjuring stories and performing them in various art forms is a hobby that helps my mental and physical health. I found my passion in the performing arts. It was through storytelling that I was able to deal with my feelings, find my wings and excel. I enjoy producing art and telling stories so much that I don't consider it work. It is just what I am motivated by. There are many personal endeavors that I am currently involved in. I write plays and short films. I also write and perform music. Some of these projects I intend to release to the public. Creating stories and living through them is really beautiful to me. Acting and filmmaking is just another form of storytelling. They can move people in a vivid way just like a good book. Theater and film can spread powerful messages and educate people as well as stir them emotionally. Theater has always been super moving. It helps me think about my life, the world and how I live. Being on stage changes my perspective on a lot of things. We learn as actors to let go of judgment of our characters. It makes us better people because we are able to see all facets of people through the roles we play. Theater tends to teach a lot of good life lessons for the actor and the audience. This can impact society, because art always does. Whether it is a small or large impact, it still can spread like a ripple in the water and have an effect on people in an artistic way. There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up mixed-race with parents from South America and the Caribbean and living in a high-society, southern city. I am inspired to express these stories and others that are conjured up in my vivid imagination as well as help other people express themselves through various art forms to make the world a more vibrant and interesting place.

I have learned that if you don’t get control of your finances early, they will control you for the rest of your life. I consider money as just a tool to help live a happy, healthy life and pursue a meaningful purpose. I do not believe in accumulating debt to acquire unnecessary things that we do not need. I have learned several strategies for managing my finances. Some I learned from my parents, who often discuss the importance of working hard and using sound financial practices. Other strategies I have learned from my own research. There are a couple of simple rules about money that I plan to practice consistently. The main idea is to discipline myself to make more than I spend and invest the difference. In order to do that, I break the money disciplines into the following four different categories: earn, control, invest, and protect. Earn I am searching for multiple ways to earn money, preferably from meaningful work I enjoy where I can use my talents and develop useful skills. There is nothing wrong with doing other work to learn, supplement, or to help someone. I just want to avoid becoming enslaved or comfortably complacent. I know that it is important to find ways to earn passive income and learn how to make money work for you. I also know it is important to develop specialized skills that are useful in the changing world. I am learning to create assets and market them. Control I know it is important to budget and control spending so I do not go into debt. I plan to organize my lifestyle so that I don't need very much to survive. I am practicing certain spending disciplines such as: don’t buy things I don’t need; don’t live beyond my means; and don’t fall into marketing traps. I make sure I can live on 70% or less of my earned income. I plan to take 30% or more to invest and insure for emergencies. Invest I know I need to start investing early and be consistent. I only invest in things that I know something about and keep my investments diversified. I think long term and use unemotional math. There is so much to learn about investing that it can get overwhelming. I am going to concentrate on a few strategies and continue to research and learn. I understand there is a winning and losing side of compound interest. The winning side is from investments and the losing side is from debt. Protect I don't plan to keep all my “eggs in one basket”. I will put money aside to prepare for the unexpected. I am learning more about insurance, trusts, copyrights, trademarks, and patents. Even though these disciplines seem simple, I know they are difficult to follow. That is why I am starting now. I hope that I will become better at them with practice over time.

I am determined to work hard and find every opportunity possible to pay for college without accumulating debt and causing my family unnecessary financial burden. As a first generation student from modest means, I always remember where I came from and feel an obligation to be the best I can be and give back. My family does not have the means to pay my college tuition, so I plan to employ a number of strategies to graduate debt free. My first strategy is to apply for financial aid. I have filled out the FAFSA information and had it sent to my college of interest. My parents and I have contacted the financial aid office and asked about opportunities for aid and how to apply. I am researching other opportunities for financial aid on my time off from school. My second strategy is to apply for scholarships. I have already applied for over a hundred scholarships through websites, my local community foundation, local clubs, performing arts centers, and more. I intend to spend time every week applying for private scholarships anywhere I can find them. I will continue to hunt and apply for scholarships throughout my time at college. My third strategy is to work and save as much as I can. My family has always instilled in me a strong work ethic. I am lining up as much work as possible for the summer and the weekends. I have just been hired for a lead role in my first, paid acting gig for a performance this spring. I plan to put as much of the money I earn from that aside to help me pay for college and ease the financial burden on my family. I also have been reaching out to retirement homes, restaurants, and businesses that will hire me to work using my talents. I have already filled up a large portion of the summer with paid work and plan to continuously seek out paid work while I am in school. My fourth strategy is to fundraise. I am setting up a "GoFundme" account and writing letters to everyone I know that believes in me and may possibly be able to contribute funds for my education. I plan to hold fundraising events where I can perform for people and ask for donations. I am also reaching out to businesses that have supported me in the past. I will also look for products that I can sell online. My fifth strategy is to live modestly and save money every way I can. I will keep a budget and be disciplined to only buy things I absolutely need while looking for discounts and opportunities to reduce my expenses every chance I get. These are just a few of the strategies that I will use. I have no intention of acquiring a massive debt that will cause unnecessary burden on myself or my family. I will continue to research and work as hard as I can to make sure I graduate without debt.

I have learned that if you don’t get control of your finances early, they will control you for the rest of your life. There are a couple of simple rules about money that I plan to practice consistently. The main idea is to discipline myself to make more than I spend and invest the difference. In order to do that, I break the money disciplines into the following four different categories: earn, control, invest, and protect. Earn- I am searching for multiple ways to earn money, preferably from meaningful work I enjoy where I can use my talents and develop useful skills. I know that it is important to find ways to earn passive income and learn how to make money work and grow. I am learning to create assets and market them. Control- I know it is important to budget and control spending so I do not go into debt. I plan to organize my lifestyle so that I don't need very much to survive. I am practicing certain spending disciplines such as: not buying things I don't need and living within my means. Invest- I know I need to start investing early and be consistent. I only invest in things that I know something about and keep my investments diversified. I think long term and use unemotional math. Protect- I don't plan to keep all my “eggs in one basket”. I will put money aside to prepare for the unexpected. I am learning more about insurance, trusts, copyrights, trademarks, and patents. Even though the disciplines seem simple, I know they are difficult to follow. That is why I am starting now.

There is a study of five love languages in which each person in the world demonstrates their love through one main quality out of the top five ways of displaying affection. These include, physical touch, quality time, acts of service, gift giving, and words of affirmation. Even though everyone has their preferences to the five love languages, I try to incorporate as much of the five in my affection to the people I truly love. I like to give hugs and hold my friends. I would brush their hair or paint their nails, and rub their arm when they are upset and talking to me about it. Of course, not everyone likes the idea of physical touch being a love language, and that is something I respect. However, for those who do, I let them know I care about them through this. Quality time is always something interesting to share with someone you love because it is always very different from how you spend time with another. Sometimes, going out to eat, or grocery shopping, going to the gym, or merely spending some time reading in silence together can recharge your friend’s as well as your own energy. Acts of service could be as easy as holding someone’s bag for them or cleaning their room when they cannot. Gift giving could be as simple as a letter or a flower you found. Words of affirmation however, is the love language of inspiration. This display of affection motivates your loved ones to love themselves as much as you do. It makes them notice that someone else sees their beauty and potential, even when they do not. The five love languages can easily be incorporated into every relationship in one’s life, including the one with yourself.

I would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to attend an institution of higher learning. It would be a privilege that a lot of my family could not receive. I know that education is one of the most important factors in determining the arc of a woman's life and the life of her family. It would offer me the chance to be in an atmosphere that would help me learn and grow. It would help me broaden my life experiences so I could have more to offer the world. My academic goals are to be a good student and learn as much as I can to develop personally and professionally. I enjoy being in an atmosphere where I am surrounded by motivated people with similar pursuits as my own. This allows me and my fellow students the opportunity to motivate each other and grow together. In addition to developing academically, I hope to build strong relationships and network with people so we can support each other throughout our careers. My educational goals heavily involve going to college. I wish to go somewhere where my passion for adventure and exploration can roam while I am still doing the things that I love and wish to do for the rest of my life. I am an artist, and I wish to create as much as I can to make the world a better place. I will immerse myself in a place where I can feel free to speak up about my learning, in constant search of knowledge and truth in order to broaden my own horizons. I wish to keep myself involved with my community and heal myself in hopes of helping my peers heal as well. I plan to tell the stories of women that have changed the world through their contributions to science, engineering, literature, art and more. I know that educated women tend to be healthier and raise healthier families. I plan to embody and model that in my own life as well as encourage and inspire other women. I want to work hard and take care of myself, which I believe is as important as academic achievement. I plan to have a family one day. Studies have shown that a mother's education is the single most important factor in children's life outcomes. I know that educated women lift families, communities, and countries out of poverty. What I learn, I will share in every way possible so that other women can see and believe in themselves. Although gender disparities are still prevalent in our society. It will be my goal to do everything I can to use my education in order to change that for my generation and the generations to come.

Joy is the exuberant feeling of gold rushing through your blood from circumstances that promote love. It is the feeling of sunlight on your skin, and laughter in your chest. Joy is different from happiness, for happiness expires quicker, but joy is long lasting, and stays stronger in your memories. Joy is still simple, golden, yet it can do so much for the soul. The way I seek joy in life is through many things. I love to go outside and explore nature. I love the beach, the mountains and forests, and everything in between that makes the natural earth so beautiful. This happiness is one of peace and grounding. It is an easy happiness that pulls me out into the sun where I can slowly regain my strength when I am upset. Dancing, whether I am using a proper form or technique, or simply releasing energy through movement while I listen to music in my bedroom, is one of the best ways that I can experience joy. Dancing is a form of expression that allows us to move with our soul with feeling, and therefore find the gold within us. I love adventure. I love impulsive actions that lead to a great and beautiful story. Little adventures, the small moments you spend on your own or with another, make life more interesting than it was yesterday. It gives so much opportunity for that golden feeling of joy. It is moments when you seek a new story to tell that you can find the gold in your life. Joy is not difficult to find once you know where to look. Although it requires something out of us in order to find it, joy encourages us to be brave enough to receive its gold.

Happiness is easy to come by when you know how you may gain it. It is important for everyone to know the basis of where their love and joy lies in order to consistently find what makes them happy. Many people believe that happiness can be difficult to find and cultivate, however, for most, simple joys in life are very easy to come by. My happiness lies in a few things that have consistently lifted my moods or have excited me. I love to go outside and explore nature. I love the beach, the mountains and forests, and everything in between that makes the natural earth so beautiful. This happiness is one of peace and grounding, an easy happiness that pulls me out into the sun where I can slowly regain my strength when I am upset. I love art in all different forms. Art makes my heart sing and it is something that brings drive and passion into my life as well. Art, especially the performing arts, whether I am watching, listening, or participating in it, is the kind of happiness that also brings me purpose. It gives me something to do and build to create a fuller life for myself. Dancing, although it is an art form, is slightly a different happiness to me. This follows the same category as being around the people who truly love me as much as I love them. I am able to flow freely and happily without judgment and feel the good energy around me as well. Happiness comes to us in many different ways. Even simple things such as these work greatly to bring light into our lives and keep it there.

I want to work hard and take care of myself, which I believe is as important as academic achievement. I had to really focus and put forth the effort to be one of the drama students selected to attend the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities. Attending this intense boarding school that challenges students academically and artistically has helped me to learn how to manage my time wisely, which allows me to get my school work done and still have time for self-care and to socialize with my friends. I have had to learn when I should be working, how much I should be working, and learn to say "no". I relax by taking walks, listening to music, reading, or just laying down with my eyes closed and keeping my mind quiet. Time out in nature watching and listening to the birds and insects helps me to release the false sense of pressure on me and feel more connected to the world. Sitting next to the waterfall at the park next to my school seems to take my burdens and wash them down the river. One of the most impactful ways I have learned to take care of myself is through journaling. Journaling is like having a therapist that you can tell anything to. It can't judge you. Journaling has been extremely impactful on my mental health. As soon as I journal about an issue happening in my life, I am able to figure out where the issue comes from and what to do about it. I intend to continue to develop my time management skills so I can live my life while I am still young and still achieve the things I want to do.

My experiences around artists showed me how one can harness emotions and impact society through creative expression. It also showed me it was possible to earn a living if you work hard and pursue it with passion, dedication and innovation. I found my passion in the performing arts. It was through writing, singing, dancing, playing music, and acting that I was able to deal with my feelings, find my wings and excel. Creating stories and living through them is really beautiful to me. Acting and filmmaking is just another form of storytelling. They can move people in a vivid way just like a good book. Theater and film can spread powerful messages and educate people as well as stir them emotionally. Theater has always been super moving. It helps me think about my life, the world and how I live. Being on stage changes my perspective on a lot of things. We learn as actors to let go of judgment of our characters. It makes us better people because we are able to see all facets of people through the roles we play. Theater tends to teach a lot of good life lessons for the actor and the audience. This can impact society, because art always does. Whether it is a small or large impact, it still can spread like a ripple in the water and have an effect on people in an artistic way. Young art is such an important part of our society now. It begins with the vulnerability of a young artist; one who is so brave that they choose to share a shred of pain or their joy with the world. In doing so, they move others. They can change minds. They open the eyes of the ignorant. Art, especially of youth, is one of the first steps to societal realization, and thus, the first step to societal growth. There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up mixed-race with parents from South America and the Caribbean and living in a high-society, southern city. I am inspired to express these stories and others that are conjured up in my vivid imagination as well as help other people express themselves through various art forms to make the world a more vibrant and interesting place. A book that influenced me was: "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys This book taught me more about specifics of the second world war that aren’t talked about as often as the holocaust. The beauty of this book was the message within the title. “Between shades of gray” was a reminder to find the light even at the bleakest of times. It is difficult to consider the events within the story and remember this message, but as a reader, you encounter moments within the story that remind the protagonist, Lena, of faith, bravery, love, and light that she is still surrounded by, no matter how small and twisted it comes to her. Another book when I was younger was: "The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making" by Catherynne Valente. This book reminded me of the many ways that imagination is so unique and the specificities of it that make us creative. Although I was young and oblivious to the career I now pursue, this book subconsciously taught me more about humanity and empathy in it's own fantasy realm. Even the characters you root for the least come from their own pain to shape a complex story. This book taught me to dream bigger and dig deeper into the world and it's people.

Having a diverse family from the Caribbean really instilled a work ethic in me towards learning and improving. My grandfather is from Trinidad and my grandmother is from Barbados. They always stressed the importance of education. It clearly meant a lot to them even though they did not have the opportunities that we have in the United States. My great grandfather, TT Lewis, was a Bajan politician who pushed the government of Barbados to provide secondary education in the schools of the island. When I visited my family in Trinidad and Barbados, they showed me that it doesn’t matter what you do or look like, you must continuously improve your mind to build a better understanding of the world. Your education is something no one can take away from you. My academic goals are to be a good student and learn as much as I can to develop personally and professionally. I enjoy being in an atmosphere where I am surrounded by motivated people with similar pursuits as my own. This allows me and my fellow students the opportunity to motivate each other and grow together. In addition to developing academically, I hope to build strong relationships and network with people so we can support each other throughout our careers. There are many personal endeavors that I am currently involved in. I write plays and short films. I also write and perform music. I plan to continue to grow my skills in dance and visual arts as well. There are many projects in these art forms that I intend to release to the public at some point in my career. I enjoy creating art and telling stories so much that I don't consider it work. It is just what I am motivated to do. I plan to continue to pursue a career as a performing artist, filmmaker and writer as well as other creative art forms in college and beyond so I can continuously inspire people throughout my life. I also want to contribute to my community and help others make their innovative ideas a reality. As an artist in the south, as well as a woman of mixed race, I have personally experienced, and still experience, the restraint of at least one of the three natural rights described by Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper and the philosopher John Locke: liberty. I grew up between the Ashley and Cooper rivers in the historic southern city of Charleston, SC. It is the city where four signers of the United States Constitution once lived. There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up in this high-society southern city as well as the stories of my ancestors from Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean that I would like to tell. Many of my ancestors faced hatred towards our culture and our people and had to scramble from one bad place to another in search of land they could call home. I wish to spread awareness of my concern for my family, my culture, and community. There was a time when I felt free enough to do this, however, there is now reluctance in the current political climate due to the restrictive laws being implemented in our state. I have to learn to overcome these obstacles. I am inspired to express these stories and others that are conjured up in my vivid imagination as well as help other people express themselves through various art forms to make the world a more vibrant and interesting place.

Community forms among people that share common interests and environments. There are different types of communities. Community can transcend geographic areas. Sometimes it can be people with shared experiences and goals. I have always felt a bond to different people, regardless of where they come from. I feel a responsibility for people and consider them part my community, even if we have never met. From the time I was a little girl, I was encouraged to do what I could to contribute to my community. My dad encouraged me to bake cookies and write “thank you” notes to people that often don’t get recognized for their service like: firemen, mailmen and women, and garbage collectors. I help underserved children to learn to read through a program called: “Reading Partners”. Most of the students I read to do not have access to books. By reading to them, it helps to build a love of literature and boost literacy. This also helps create a bond between our different cultures. I volunteer at a “pay what you can” café This café provides free or low cost meals to underserved communities in need. We help chop vegetables and prepare food. We also would help deliver food to retirement homes, homeless shelters, senior centers. I also contribute to my community by sharing stories through my art and music. There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up mixed-race with parents from South America and the Caribbean and living in a high-society, southern city. I am inspired to express these stories and others that are conjured up in my vivid imagination as well as help other people express themselves through various art forms to make the world a more vibrant and interesting place. My dream is to be a creator and a protector of the world. I’m an artist and I want to share that side of myself fully. I intend to fully immerse myself into my career as a performing artist, filmmaker and writer so I can inspire people throughout my life. I am happy collaborating with a small group or working on project by a studio or company. I just want to be creating non-stop. There are many personal endeavors that I am currently involved in. I write plays and short films. I also write and perform music. I plan to continue to grow my skills in dance and visual arts as well. There are many projects in these art forms that I intend to release to the public at some point in my career. I enjoy creating art and telling stories so much that I don't consider it work. It is just what I am motivated by. I also want to contribute to my community and help others make their innovative ideas a reality.

Creating stories and living through them is really beautiful to me! Creating stories through performance art is what I do! There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up mixed-race with parents from South America and the Caribbean and living in a high-society, southern city. I am inspired to express these stories and others that are conjured up in my vivid imagination as well as help other people express themselves through various art forms to make the world a more vibrant and interesting place. I intend to fully immerse myself into developing as a performing artist, filmmaker and writer so I can continuously create and inspire people throughout my life. I am happy collaborating with a small group or working on our own project or if I am hired to work on a project by a studio or company. I just want to be creating non-stop. There are many personal endeavors that I am currently involved in. I write plays and short films. I also write and perform music. I plan to continue to grow my skills in dance and visual arts as well. There are many projects in these art forms that I intend to release to the public at some point in my career. I enjoy creating art and telling stories so much that I don't consider it work. It is just what I am motivated by. I also want to contribute to my community and help others make their innovative ideas a reality.

During the pandemic, there were many people who volunteered at medical facilities to help relieve some of the burden on healthcare workers. There was a greater demand to meet the needs of the community at that time. The volunteers were helping provide important services and helping the workers both physically and mentally. It is important to give back to the community for many reasons. If everyone provided even just a little bit, the world would become a better place to live. There would be less conflict and more understanding if people showed appreciation for each other. This would help things change for the better. Community service helps bring people together in a time where we are getting more polarized It helps to break down racial and economic barriers when you make the effort to serve communities of people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Just by showing up, you are building trust and breaking down stereotypes. When you are providing for someone else, you are also providing for yourself a feeling of purpose. You are also helping to make your community more loving and being a positive role model. Giving is receiving! My dream is to be a creator and a protector of the world. I’m an artist and I want to share that side of myself fully. I want to create and work hard, collaborate with people who think profoundly about the world and move communities in a powerful way. I want to help communities in peril. This is true whether it be communities of people or animals, I want to provide my help. I dream of leading in a way that can shape a better future for so many. I dream of making an impact so strong that it can swell in people’s hearts like a fire. I have hope because I have witnessed the goodness in people's hearts during times of crisis. I want to tell these stories to encourage more acts of kindness and bring people together.

From the time I was a little girl, I was encouraged to do what I could to contribute to my community. My dad encouraged me to bake cookies and write “Thank You” notes to people that often don’t get recognized for their service like: firemen, mailmen and women, and garbage collectors. We would also bring gifts to kids at the foster care centers during the holidays. In the beginning of my high school years, I helped underserved children to learn to read. My school partnered with another school from an underserved part of town to help boost literacy rates through a program called: “Reading Partners”. I would help read to the elementary school students after school so they would develop a love for reading and literature. This also helped create a bond between our different cultures. Throughout the course of the pandemic and before, I volunteered to work with my dad at a café that provided free or low-cost meals to underserved communities. It was run by a wonderful lady of local “Gullah” culture. We helped her chop vegetables and prepare food. We also would help deliver food to retirement homes, homeless shelters, senior centers and other places where people had a difficult time accessing nutritious food. Community service helps bring people together in a time where we are getting more polarized It helps to break down racial and economic barriers when you make the effort to serve communities of people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Just by showing up, you are building trust and breaking down stereotypes. When you are providing for someone else, you are also providing for yourself a feeling of purpose. You are also helping to make your community more loving and being a positive role model. Giving is receiving!

I have learned from adversity and have become better because of it. My mother immigrated to the United States from Venezuela where her family suffered greatly from the political and economic tragedies taking place there. She married my father, who's family immigrated from the Caribbean. Both my parents showed me the importance of education, innovation and persistent work ethic. They were able to support our family by building businesses that promoted education. They also helped me cultivate my love for the arts. My mother is a painter and my father is a musician. My experiences around artists showed me how one can harness emotions and impact society through creative expression. It also showed me it was possible to earn a living if you work hard and pursue it with passion, dedication and innovation. All through my life, I have experienced an obstacle concerning my own abilities. I learned the meaning of: “imposter syndrome”. I grew up in the historic, southern city of Charleston, South Carolina. My parents sacrificed greatly to send me to a prestigious, all-girl school where most of my fellow students came from affluent families that had been in the south for generations. It was always a struggle to overcome the feeling that I did not belong there, realize my self-worth and maintain my personal power. Due to this, I worked twice as hard and maintained fairly high grades. I found my passion in the performing arts. It was through writing, singing, dancing, playing music, and acting that I was able to deal with my feelings, find my wings and excel. I later researched and found the South Carolina Governor's School of the Arts and Humanities. I had to focus and work hard to audition and be one of the few drama students accepted from my state. I was so grateful to attend a school where I was immersed in creativity and surrounded by peers that shared my passion. The teachers pushed me and helped me grow. We had to overcome the adversity of the global pandemic, but we learned to adapt. There was so much love and pride towards what we were doing that inspired me deeply. I still suffered from self-doubt. Through acting and performing, I realized I had power within me and began to harness it. I went on to win a national YoungArt competition and spend an intense week virtually interacting with talented students and professionals from all over the country. The opportunity to continue my education on a higher level would be a huge help for me to continue my dream of making a positive impact on society through art. There are so many ways to use this gift as fertilizer for the growth of a new world. Art can teach. There are always lessons to be discovered in writing, theater, music, and more. Art can heal the wounded. Through these same words, sounds, and visuals, people can recognize their pains and even begin to nurture them until they go away. I also want to give back to my community and encourage others to follow their dreams. All the lessons I learn from life's challenges will be channeled into my artistic endeavors to entertain, educate, and inspire. (1) I would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to attend college. It would be a privilege that a lot of my family could not receive. It would offer me the chance to be surrounded by passionate people who would help me learn and grow. It would help me broaden my life experiences so I could have more to offer the world. It would not be possible without financial support. (2) A typical day may include walking and exploring nature or finding time to spend conversing with my friends. When I am alone, I often write in my journal or work on a creative project. I play the guitar and piano and have composed over 20 songs. I am in the process of writing a feature length play. I also like making videos with my friends or watching movies. There is always a screen play to memorize and rehearse or a story to contemplate. (3) I am a naturally curious person. I like to visit museums and admire artistic works. My friends and I tend to dive into deep conversations that may expose vulnerable subjects. My dad and I are always talking about philosophical topics and digging into history and sometimes politics. I love to read books and listen to podcasts. I also like to discover new hobbies and try out new things. I have recently gone surfing, skateboarding, and done classes in African and modern dance.

I am pursuing a career in the performing arts because that is what I was born to do! I’m an artist and I want to share that side of myself fully. I dream of making an impact so strong that it can swell in people’s hearts like a fire. Education is extremely important to me. I am super dedicated to acting and theater and intend to major in performing arts in college. I had to really focus and put forth the effort to be one of the 14 drama students that were selected to attend the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities out of hundreds of students that auditioned throughout my state. Attending this intense boarding school that challenges students academically and artistically has helped me to learn how to manage my time wisely. I was also one of 18 finalists in the country to be selected through the YoungArts competition, which identifies the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary and performing arts, and provides them with creative and professional development opportunities throughout their careers. My educational goals are to attend a four year college where I can be surrounded by people who will motivate and inspire me in an environment where we can all grow together. I intend to fully immerse myself into my career as a performing artist and writer so I can continuously create and inspire people throughout my life. I am happy to be collaborating with a small group or working on a large project with a studio or company. I just want to be creating non-stop. There are many personal endeavors that I am currently involved in. I write plays and short films. I also write and perform music. I plan to continue to grow my skills in dance and visual arts as well. There are many projects in these art forms that I intend to release to the public at some point in my career. I enjoy creating art and telling stories so much that I don't consider it work. It is just what I am motivated by. I also want to contribute to my community and help others make their innovative ideas a reality. Creating stories and living through them is really beautiful to me. Acting is just another form of storytelling. It can move people in a vivid way just like a good book. Theater and film can spread powerful messages and educate people as well as stir them emotionally. Theater has always been super moving. It helps me think about my life, the world and how I live. Being on stage changes my perspective on a lot of things. We learn as actors to let go of judgment of our characters. It makes us better people because we are able to see all facets of people through the roles we play. Theater tends to teach a lot of good life lessons for the actor and the audience. This can impact society, because art always does. Whether it is a small or large impact, it still can spread like a ripple in the water and have an effect on people in an artistic way. There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up mixed-race with parents from South America and the Caribbean and living in a high-society, southern city. I am inspired to express these stories and others that are conjured up in my vivid imagination as well as help other people express themselves through various art forms to make the world a more vibrant and interesting place.

Conveying stories of the human experience through artistic expression has been my talent, and I intend to use it to impact the world. There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up mixed-race with parents from South America and the Caribbean and living in a high-society, southern city. I am inspired to express these stories and others that are conjured up in my vivid imagination as well as help other people express themselves through various art forms to make the world a more vibrant and interesting place. I spend every day immersing myself in creative endeavors and intentionally surround myself with people that inspire me. I had to really put forth the effort to be accepted as a drama students at the SC Governor School for the Arts and to also be a winner in the National YoungArts competition. Creating stories and living through them is really beautiful to me. Acting is just another form of storytelling. It can move people in a evocative way. Theater and film can spread powerful messages and educate people as well as stir them emotionally. Theater helps me think about life, the world and how we live. We learn as actors to let go of judgment of our characters. It makes us better people because we are able to see all facets of people through the roles we play. Theater tends to teach a lot of good life lessons for the actor and the audience. This can impact society, because art always has. Whether it is a small or large impact, it still can spread like ripples in the water and move people in an artistic way. Whether through my writing, music, or performance, I will continue to develop my talent to make a splash on the world stage.

Acting is my best skill. I am super dedicated to improving my skills and intend to major in performing arts and film in college. I had to really focus and put forth the effort to be one of the 14 students that were selected to attend the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities out of hundreds of students that auditioned throughout my state. Attending this intense boarding school that challenges students academically and artistically has helped me to learn how to manage my time wisely, which allows me to get my school work done and still have time for self care. I was also one of 18 finalists in the entire country to be selected through the YoungArts competition, which identifies the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary and performing arts, and provides them with creative and professional development opportunities throughout their careers. I intend to continue to develop my time management skills so I can live my life while I am still young and still achieve the things I want to do. I have had to learn when I should be working, how much I should be working, and learn to say "no". I want to provide as much as I can for my school and to create art in a collaborative, dedicated, and detailed way.

I have a vision of sharing my gifts to make the world a better place. I have always loved the arts and grew up immersing myself in them. I believe that art is such a powerful form of healing, for the artist as well as the people who come across it. There are so many ways to use this gift as fertilizer for the growth of a new world. Art can teach. There are always lessons to be discovered in writing, theater, music, and more. Art can heal the wounded. Through these same words, sounds, and visuals, people can recognize their pains and even begin to nurture them until they go away. I have also always been fascinated with nature and science. I grew up near the Fort Johnson Marine Research lab in South Carolina where I played in the salt marshes and the maritime forest marveling over all the magnificent creatures there. My father worked at a wildlife refuge where he would lead talks on environmental education explaining the wonders of the interconnected ecosystems. My summers were spent in the Appalachian mountains going on nature hikes to learn about the flora and fauna. We would often attend workshops at the Charleston Museum and listen to science talks. I found that science and art are really interconnected. My journey with the arts and nature started when I was a child. I am the daughter of a musician and a painter. Due to this, I learned to play music and paint and I discovered my passion for the performing arts. I dove so deep into my work, I was recognized with the YoungArts organization as an actress. After only spending one week with so many talented young artists in the country, I found myself inspired every day on such a deep level. I am so grateful for the gifts and support that these artists gave me and I'm eager to work with them all in the future. Young art is such an important part of our society now. It begins with the vulnerability of a young artist; one who is so brave that they choose to share a shred of pain or their joy with the world. In doing so, they move others. They change minds. They open the eyes of the ignorant. Art, especially of youth, is one of the first steps to societal realization, and thus, the first step to societal growth. I believe that art can inspire science and scientists. Art can also help build awareness of scientific concepts to the public and motivate new scientists. I was a huge fan of "Dr. Who" when I was a child. I have also been inspired by movies like "Contact", "Inception" and "Interstellar". I researched and watched numerous science videos to understand the concepts in those shows. I am intrigued by stories of female scientists like Marie Curie, Ada Lovelace, and Vera Rubin. I hope to tell their stories and help inspire new scientists, discoveries, and innovations through art.

I intend to fully immerse myself into my career as a performing artist, filmmaker and writer so I can continuously create and inspire people throughout my life. I don't care if it is just me and a couple people working on our own project or if I am hired to work on a project by a studio or company. I just want to be creating non-stop. There are many personal creative endeavors that I am currently involved in. I write plays and short films. I also write and perform music. I plan to continue to grow my skills in dance and visual arts as well. There are many projects in these art forms that I intend to release to the public at some point in my career. I enjoy creating art and telling stories so much that I don't consider it work. It is just what I am motivated by. I also want to contribute to my community and help people with creative ideas make them a reality. My academic goals are to be a good student and learn as much as I can to develop personally and professionally. I enjoy being in an atmosphere where I am surrounded by motivated people with similar pursuits as my own. This gives us the opportunity to motivate each other and grow together. In addition to developing academically, I hope to build strong relationships and network with people so we can support each other throughout our careers. I want to work hard and take care of myself, which I believe is as important as academic achievement. Creating stories and living through them is really beautiful to me. Acting and filmmaking is just another form of storytelling. They can move people in a vivid way just like a good book. Theater and film can spread powerful messages and educate people as well as stir them emotionally. Theater has always been super moving. It helps me think about my life, the world and how I live. Being on stage changes my perspective on a lot of things. We learn as actors to let go of judgment of our characters. It makes us better people because we are able to see all facets of people through the roles we play. Theater tends to teach a lot of good life lessons for the actor and the audience. This can impact society, because art always does. Whether it is a small or large impact, it still can spread like a ripple in the water and have an effect on people in an artistic way. Young art is such an important part of our society now. It begins with the vulnerability of a young artist; one who is so brave that they choose to share a shred of pain or their joy with the world. In doing so, they move others. They can change minds. They open the eyes of the ignorant. Art, especially of youth, is one of the first steps to societal realization, and thus, the first step to societal growth. There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up mixed-race with parents from South America and the Caribbean and living in a high-society, southern city. I am inspired to express these stories and others that are conjured up in my vivid imagination as well as help other people express themselves through various art forms to make the world a more vibrant and interesting place.

It would mean a tremendous amount to me to receive this scholarship to relieve the financial burden of education and self improvement from my family and myself. It is extremely difficult to pursue a career in the arts and still be able to support myself. My parents are already working hard to pay living expenses and support other family that are struggling. As a first generation college student, having the money to pursue my dreams would have the greatest impacts on my life and future. My academic goals are to be a good student and learn as much as I can to develop personally and professionally. I enjoy being in an atmosphere where I am surrounded by motivated people with similar pursuits as my own. This gives us the opportunity to motivate each other and grow together. In addition to developing academically, I hope to build strong relationships and network with people so we can support each other throughout our careers. I want to work hard and take care of myself, which I believe is also as important as academic achievement. Education is very important to me. I am super dedicated to acting and theater and intend to major in performing arts and film in college. I had to really focus and put forth the effort to be one of only 14 of students that was selected to attend the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities out of hundreds of students that auditioned throughout my state. Attending this intense boarding school that really challenges us academically and artistically has helped me to learn how to manage my time wisely. I was one of 18 finalists in the entire country to be selected through the YoungArts competition, which identifies the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary and performing arts, and provides them with creative and professional development opportunities throughout their careers. I intend to continue to develop my time management skills so I can live my life while I am still young and still achieve the things I want to do. I want to provide as much as I can for my school and create art in a collaborative, dedicated, and detailed way. I intend to fully immerse myself into my career as a performing artist, filmmaker and writer so I can continuously create and inspire people throughout my life. I don't care if it is just me and a couple people working on our own project or if I am hired to work on a project by a studio or company, I just want to be creating non-stop. There are many personal creative endeavors that I am currently involved in. I write plays and short films. I also write and perform music. There are many projects in these art forms that I intend to release to the public at some point in my career. I enjoy creating art and telling stories so much that I don't consider it work. It is just what I am motivated by. I also want to contribute to my community and help people who have creative ideas make them a reality. There are many stories from my own unique experiences growing up mixed-race with parents from South America and the Caribbean and living in a high-society, southern city. I am inspired to express these stories and others that are conjured up in my vivid imagination as well as help other people express themselves through various art forms to make the world a more vibrant and interesting place.

I derive a lot of pleasure from my artistic pursuits. I love to act, sing, write, draw, and create films. I find that playing the guitar and piano helps free my mind while sharing with others. I also enjoy exercising, walking in nature, and spending time with friends. Some ways I practice self-care is to listen to myself and my body, assess how I feel and evaluate what to do about it. One of the most impactful ways I have learned to take care of myself is through journaling. I made it a goal for myself to make one journal every day for a month. I found that it caused me to journal more often and make longer entries. There are many things that I journal about that end up changing my life instantly. When I don't journal about the things affecting me, the things happening in my life don't get addressed or solved as quickly. Journaling is like having a therapist that you can tell anything to it can't judge you, Journaling has been extremely impactful on my mental health. As soon as I journal about an issue happening in my life, I am able to figure out where the issue comes from and what to do about it. Community service makes me happy to benefit not only me, but also the community. I feel like I make some sort of an impact, however minuscule that progress is. It shows that there are people that care and are willing to go out of their way to volunteer and make a difference to help others for the greater good. I intend to do it for the rest of my life. I don’t need credit. It is about knowing that I am actually doing something to contribute to the world.

From the time I was a little girl, I was encouraged to do what I could to contribute to my community. My dad encouraged me to bake cookies and write “thank you” notes to people that often don’t get recognized for their service like: firemen, mailmen and women, and garbage collectors. We would make it a point to clean up trash and litter when we passed it in the street and throw it in a receptacle. We would participate in beach and river sweeps to clean solid waste pollution that could harm people and wildlife. We would also bring gifts to kids at the foster care centers during the holidays. In the beginning of my high school years, I helped underserved children to learn to read. My school partnered with another school from an underserved part of town to help boost literacy rates through a program called: “Reading Partners”. Most of the students came from communities of color. I would help read to the elementary school students after school so they would develop a love for reading and literature. Most of the students did not have the opportunity to have books read to them. This also helped create a bond between our different cultures. Throughout the course of the pandemic and before, I volunteered to work with my dad at a “pay what you can” café called: “Destiny Community Café”. This café provided free or low cost meals to underserved communities in need. It was run by a wonderful lady of local “Gullah” “Geechee” culture who had grown up here. We helped her chop vegetables and prepare food. We also would help deliver food to retirement homes, homeless shelters, senior centers and other places where people had a difficult time accessing nutritious food. Community service is part of my life.

It is important to give back to the community for many reasons. If everyone provided even just a little bit, the world would become a better place to live. There would be less conflict and more understanding if people showed appreciation for each other. This would help things change for the better. It helps to break down racial and economic barriers when you make the effort to serve communities of people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Just by showing up, you are building trust and breaking down stereotypes. From the time I was a little girl, I was encouraged to do what I could to contribute to my community. I would bake cookies and write “thank you” notes to people that often don’t get recognized for their service like: firemen, mailmen and women, and garbage collectors. We would also bring gifts to kids at the foster care centers during the holidays. In the beginning of my high school years, I helped underserved children to learn to read. My school partnered with another school from an underserved part of town to help boost literacy rates through a program called: “Reading Partners”. Most of the students came from communities of color. I would help read to the elementary school students after school so they would develop a love for reading and literature. Most of the students did not have the opportunity to have books read to them. This also helped create a bond between our different cultures. Community service helps bring people together in a time where we are getting more polarized When you are providing for someone else, you are also providing for yourself a feeling of purpose. You are also helping to make your community more loving and being a positive role model. Giving is receiving!

Education is very important to me. I am super dedicated to acting and theater and intend to major in performing arts and film in college. I had to really focus and put forth the effort to be one of only 14 of students that was selected to attend the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities out of hundreds of students that auditioned throughout my state. Attending this intense boarding school that really challenges us academically and artistically has helped me to learn how to manage my time wisely in order to get the school work done and still have time for self care. I was also one of 18 finalists in the entire country to be selected through the YoungArts competition, which identifies the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary and performing arts, and provides them with creative and professional development opportunities throughout their careers. I intend to continue to develop my time management skills so I can live my life while I am still young and still achieve the things I want to do. I have had to learn when I should be working, how much I should be working, and learn to say "no". I want to provide as much as I can for my school and create art in a collaborative, dedicated, and detailed way. There are many personal creative endeavors that I am currently involved in. I write plays and short films. I also write and perform music. I plan to continue to grow my skills in dance and visual arts as well. There are many projects in these art forms that I intend to release to the public at some point in my career. I enjoy creating art and telling stories so much that I don't consider it work.

I have always been a spiritual person. It has helped me grow and discover myself, be kind to all things, and find my passions. There is an unspoken connection to creativity in the spiritual world. Both my artistic endeavors and my spirituality have found themselves in similar places that I had never realized until very recently. Both of my parents are artists. My mother is a painter and sculptor and my father is a musician. I grew up learning from them both, even when I wasn’t being taught. I know how to paint and how to mold clay, I play piano and guitar and write my own music. However, I found my own artistic passion in performing live in the theater. Ever since I could first stand I would be on a stage. I would dance on stage with my father’s band as a baby, perform in ballets and piano recitals, and eventually act in plays and musicals. My parents were a huge impact on my artistic development and I am very grateful that they helped me discover my passion and supported me through fulfilling it. My spirituality lived in a separate world from my art my whole life. I found it to be a much more personal side to me. It was more intimate and even hidden at times. It was never a religion to me but rather little thoughts and healing patterns that I think of everyday helped me discover myself and my abilities as a person and a member of a community. I have always loved this side of myself. I adore how loving it is and how much it has changed me and helped me grow. I love how much I use the gifts it gives me to connect with others and spread love and kindness as much as I can. I have discovered how much I want to be a healer for others, and my spirituality has helped me find it. I attend a school where I am immersed in the performing arts. I’ve grown a lot through my studies and have fallen further in love with the work I do. Here, I discovered how much my spirituality coincides with my passion and my career. A teacher, as well as a life guide to me, often tells me that “we actors are the last of the shaman.” By this, he means we are our own priests and priestesses in our own methods of spirituality on stage. The theater is our church and the audience is in some ways coming for enlightenment or penance. The actor has the ability to channel the spirit of a character through their body. It can be moving to those who witness it. The actor has the power to make an audience laugh, cry, realize faults or failures, and more. I never noticed until then how much the significance of theater truly meant to me. Was I called to the stage just because I found joy in it or was I called for something deeper? Regardless of its calling, it has helped me and healed me in more ways than one. I have found a community that accepts me and that teaches me every day, a passion for life that grows stronger by the hour, and a love for the world and for its people. This is a love so strong it radiates through an auditorium.

I have a vision of sharing my gifts to make the world a better place. I have always loved the arts and grew up immersing myself in them. I believe that art is such a powerful form of healing, for the artist as well as the people who come across it. There are so many ways to use this gift as fertilizer for the growth of a new world. Art can teach. There are always lessons to be discovered in writing, theatre, music, and more. Art can heal the wounded. Through these same words, sounds, and visuals, people can recognize their pains and even begin to nurture them until they go away. My journey with the arts started when I was small. I am the daughter of a musician and a painter. Due to this, I learned to play music and paint and I discovered my passion for the performing arts. I dove so deep into my work, I was recognized with the YoungArts Organization as an actress and with only spending one week with so many talented young artists in the country, I found myself inspired every day on such a deep level. I am so grateful for the gifts and support that these artists gave me and I'm eager to work with them all in the future. Young art is such an important part of our society now. It begins with the vulnerability of a young artist, one who is so brave that they choose to share a shred of pain or their joy with the world. And in doing so, they move others. They change minds. They open the eyes of the ignorant. Art, especially of youth, is one of the first steps to societal realization, and thus, the first step to societal growth.

Sometimes dreams aren’t set in stone. Sometimes dreams are how you feel while you live, what you see and choose to make a memory. I’ve always had dreams of what I want to do with the rest of my life: create art in many forms, travel and share with the world, help others in need, be a powerful leader, start a family, and finally sit back and look at how much I helped the world change for the better. When I was younger, my dreams were concrete, immovable. However, as I grew, things began to change within me. I didn’t want to do all the things I had thought of doing when I was small, I found new things to be passionate about, and now that I’m at the age where I have to choose, the pressure is on fully. With all of this said, I have also found the things that I want to do no matter what and I’ve decided how daring I am to go after them. My dream is to be a creator and a protector of the world. I’m an artist and I want to share that side of myself fully. I want to create and work hard, collaborate with people who think profoundly about the world and move communities in a powerful way. I want to help communities in peril. This is true whether it be communities of people or animals, I want to provide my help. I dream of leading in a way that can shape a better future for so many. I dream of making an impact so strong that it can swell in people’s hearts like a fire. Yet, there is still so much time in between those moments that I have left to spare. So many things are still left to do. This is why my dreams aren’t carved in stone anymore. They are written in the sky for me to see every day, I still have one life to live, and my true dream for it is to live fully. I dream of feeling pure joy at least for one moment of every day. I dream of being grateful for the family I have as well as the one I have created around me. I dream of falling in love and traveling the world, exploring and learning more about myself, people, and the mysteries that lie within every crevice of the planet. I dream of being soaked in my self-power and sharing growth and love to the world, to my community, and to every living thing that I pass. I dream of peace and kindness flowing through and all around me, of comfort and safety, and I dream of joyful screams and spontaneous adventures that can only happen once. Although I have dreams on what I wish to do with my life, my life is also walking hand in hand with me down this path. I cannot decide or dream of everything that will come for me, I can only work up to the few things I wish for. My main dream is to live long but live well. To be able to look back at the adventure that my life has taken me through and smile. To know that I had felt every feeling fully in every day of my life and moved gracefully through my pain as well as my joy. My dream is to be human in the most vibrant way, and fulfilling that dream can at times be difficult. All there is to it is to be as real to myself and others as possible.

I first began watching “Avatar: The Last Airbender” when I was eight years old. It was, of course, everything a little girl fascinated with the elements and magic would adore. As I grew, and I made it a ritual to watch the show again, I realized how much of it had shaped me and taught me to be who I am today. “Avatar: The Last Airbender” has so many life lessons hidden in the magic of the narrative! This show taught me how everything is connected. I learned how important it is to have empathy for yourself and others. It helped me realize how easy it is to give into negativity and how important it is not to. The story made it clear that the only person who is in charge of your destiny, is yourself, and you have the power to choose what to do with it.

As I grew, I began to struggle with maintaining my power. I would begin to give it away, cause detriment to myself, thinking that I had to sacrifice everything in order to have people love me. Over time, I learned how much of a lie that was. And how much I was blocking and hiding, even from myself. My experience with mental health has been more easy going than many other journeys. This is something I am grateful for, but the path is still difficult and it is still strenuous. I grew up learning at every chance I got how I could take care of myself and how strong I am to be able to do it on my own. I have struggled with my self love and self worth, fears of all kinds, and eventually these led to a lot of self discovery and analysis that helped shape how to best take care of myself. All of these things formed new and more profound values that have allowed me to stay secure and strong within myself. When I was younger, I had a difficult period in my life that had wounded me deeply. I felt as if I did not matter, I did not belong, and that the people in my life really did not want me there. This wound ruptured my view on the world and on my relationships. I found myself walking away from people who really did love me because I felt certain it was a lie, I clung to fantasy of finding strong bonds in my life when there were plenty of real opportunities in front of me that I was blind to. It was years before I had realized how my mind had been poisoned. A big part of my mental health and my journey working to better it has started with self awareness. I have found myself in circumstances where I stop my mind from saying things I am logically finding to be untrue and I choose to acknowledge these self-deprecating actions and to work through them. I can't remember when I had first been critical of the way that I looked. I remember being very young and finding little things in my being to be critical of. My body was never pretty enough, my hair, my face, my voice, my laugh, all of these things were not good enough to me. When I noticed how awful I had been to myself is when I worked through years of underlying traumas that I had not noticed until I dug through my soul to find them and tear them out like weeds in a garden. I have the right to grow and bloom and it is my own job to make sure nothing can suffocate me. Mental health does not only occupy matters of the mind, but physical matters as well. Your mind is, in fact, still a part of your physical body and is heavily tied into it. It was important to me then, and still is now, that I understand how my thoughts on myself can greatly hurt me as well as heal or lift me if I give them the power to. My journey with treated my mental health has shaped my life in dramatic ways. The main theme of it has been a constant path to self discovery and true listening. These two things have brought back my confidence in myself, my love for myself, and welcomed in new habits that benefit myself. It has destructed fears I didn't know I had, put an end to negative self talk, and established personal boundaries as well as those I have with the world. My goals as a person, as an employee to be, and more, have been greatly affected by how I have treated my mental health, especially recently. With confidence gained, I have found the stamina and the self-belief to go after the things that I want. I have learned so much about myself. How I wish to live and what has been blocking me from that potential. I put an end to those unwanted walls and I have found a spark of new life within myself that I use every day. I listen to myself, my body, my intuition, and I regulate how to keep my mind and body safe. My relationships have grown stronger because of this. When one decides to better themselves in their own, it is so much easier to provide for others. I have become so abundant within myself that I have the energy to share my love strongly and securely with the people I care for. I have attracted people who care about me deeply and that show that they do, people who teach me every day how to be the best version of myself. Of course, there are still many people and longstanding relationships that I have had that do not serve me. The boundaries that I have set within myself now have given me the strength to know when someone does not, or no longer belongs in my life. This is always something difficult to do, but I have found strength and peace in standing up for myself in a rooted way, and sending love regardless. My view on the world has been altered from a partially pessimistic outlook, to one that always finds the light in a situation. The world can be dark, and I have accepted its flaws. However, there is still so much to be grateful for. Healing my mentality has helped me fully realize this. I am able to point out all the positivity that has surrounded me every day, the people who still remain in my life, and the opportunities I face that keep me on a path of light and joy. My journey with my mental health has given me a chance to grow into the person I have always wanted to be. Although the path can at times be tough, it is worth it.

I love my passion for life and everything I do. I have found a way to be passionate about every aspect of my life and I am grateful for all of the lessons it has taught me. All throughout my life, I have reflected and looked into myself to allow myself to grow, and the work that I have done has paid off to help me find the things I love and to pursue them fully in ways I hadn't even imagined to be in the cards for me. My passion for my hobbies in the arts and in nature, in helping others, and in creating a better community around me, have taught me so much about myself and allowed me to look deeper into my surroundings and how the have affected me and shaped me into who I am. My passion in art strives to heal. It allows me to heal myself and to heal others. I find it to be one of the most motivating aspects of my craft: to help myself and others grow. My passion for nature and the buzzing world away from the city allows me to reconnect with the earth, discover the beauty of the world again and realize how much there is to be grateful for in this life. Nature is a natural healer when you learn how even though it is dangerous, it is friendly. My community is very important to me and I am passionate about shaping it to be better. I channel this passion through myself so I have the strength to help others. It is a beautiful thing to build with other people. Not only are my passions for my hobbies such a big part of my life, but also my passion and love for the story that I live in. I think it's very important to find adventure in everything you do. It is imperative to discover the beauty in every waking moment that you can possibly witness, and to go out and find more of it whenever you can. Life is a fleeting thing, and it should be lived with grandeur. I always find a way to be passionate about the life I live. Of course, there are days when it is difficult, but the beautiful thing about it is that it is entirely human to feel deeply in the way that I do. If we all choose to seek the passion and beauty of life, even in the dark, we can truly see that there is more to be thankful for than we had originally thought.

My days are long and strenuous, constantly filled with projects to finish. However, there is always that one moment, or even a day, where I can choose to relax. I like to bathe first, cleaning all of the stress and tension from my body. Being in the shower is a meditative process in which I can replenish myself mentally and physically. Then, I nurture my body some more outside of the shower before I go into the things that bring me more emotional joy. Coming up with an interesting outfit to wear sparks my creativity and it gives me the capacity to have fun with something so simple. I have always loved fashion, and being able to use my imagination with what I choose to wear sparks some joy within me. Going out and being alone in whatever place I am is always a good way for me to relax. I like to plant myself back into the earth whenever I get the chance. Whether it is the forest, mountains, or the ocean, nature has always been a place where my head can be clear. Even driving by the beach or through the windy roads of forested hills is enough to calm me down. However, sometimes I don't have access to the Earth in this way, but I have access to music. Whether I create it on my own or I'm listening to it, music has always been a part of my life that improves my mental health. And dancing makes all the difference to my mood. Music and dance are where I give my body the space to decompress and connect to its truest desires of freedom. In all of these things, nature, music, dance, and nurturing the temple that is my body, I find true peace in myself.

I grew up on a stage. My father is a musician and has always played with bands at any kind of concert venue that my mom could attend with me cradled in her arms. When I first started learning to stand on my own, I was dancing on stage with my dad and his friends. I have never been afraid of the public eye. At a very young age, I began to find my passion for storytelling. There was so much beauty in creating a world from your own mind, a world nobody else could see exactly the way that you could. I loved to share these stories, write them down, express them passionately to myself and to my friends, my family. I would find small inspirations every day. From a little mushroom on a hiking trail to just the perfect ocean wave and the sun’s reflection in the water. There was so much detail in the world that I wanted to highlight. One of the ways I found myself expressing stories was through acting. Through imagination and given circumstances. When you are little, the whole world can be a stage, and I used it all. I wrote my story and without even fully knowing what I was doing back then, I was acting out every scene on my own. In the most recent years of my life, I found acting to be my biggest passion. Storytelling is a beautiful pursuit, but to become one with the story, and to move people from viewing or living inside the story is such a vibrant profession to have. It helps me to connect with all the people around me. I did not expect the profession of acting to be as difficult as it is, as hardworking as it is, but I am glad for it. I am grateful for the efforts I need to put into it and how much it allows me to grow as an artist as well as a human being and member of society. I heard a friend speaking about how beautiful it is to be an artist, especially an actor, for we look at the world through a lens that does not involve as much judgement. As actors, we are told to never judge our characters, and because of this, we apply our non-judgmental understandings of the underlying truths of people we meet in our everyday lives. We have a way to see through the surface of another person and accept them, for our art is purely about people, about relationships, about the ways we go about the world. A good actor is someone who can go through life without judgement of those they pass by.