My name is Kayla Brown and I am 16 years old. I am going to be a senior in high school and my hobbies include theatre, leadership, baking, and hanging out with my friends. I have been involved with theatre since my freshman year of high school and I enjoyed playing different characters. Some characters that I have played include a sassy teenage daughter and a frustrated costume manager who deals with an actor who does not want to wear the costumes she provided for the Taming of the Shrew. I served as the secretary for Drama Club and it taught me more leadership tips such as better organization. I have been in Link Crew since my sophomore year, and it is a club that welcomes freshmen. Our major event is Orientation, and we strive to make it a welcoming environment for them. We get to take a group of freshmen, take them to a classroom, and play games with them. I have also served as secretary for Link Crew and I learned how to plan games, take notes and lead team bonding exercises. I would use the money to create a better life by putting it towards my college tuition. I would put that money towards necessities such as books, food and living. Using the money towards tuition costs would help me graduate college with less debt. I plan on going to Azusa Pacific University, University of La Verne, or California Baptist University and this award will help me get a degree in the theatre arts, and help me advance my theatre skills further to become an actress. I also plan on minoring in either English, Psychology, or Leadership so I can help out in other fields while being an actress. I plan on having the necessary skills needed to become an actress but also want to learn about business-related endeavors as a secondary job. After I graduate college, I plan on using the award money, along with other awards, to graduate with less debt. I can put my money to find a new place to live and take care of my parents. While finding work as an actress, I can find work as a school substitute to make money while working around my schedule to get work as an actress. By having flexible hours, I can go to auditions while having a steady job. I plan on starting small at first. While substituting, I would start work as an extra in tv shows. Then, I would move on to small speaking parts and move up gradually until I find myself getting starring roles. I would use the money I earned as an actress to help my parents, donate to charity, and use some of it for myself. I want to use my fame as an actress to do good as a person. I never believed in bragging about your success, and that people should spend their money on things that they will not need. I want to serve as a role model, help charities, and help out my parents when they get older. My definition of creating a better life is to learn the skills I need to become an actress and use my time in college to take up a second field to minor in. I would start small and move on to gradually bigger roles. I want to help out my family when they get older and donate money to charities. I am working towards creating a better life for myself and my family. Thank you for considering me for the Barbara J. DeVaney Memorial Scholarship.

My experience with mental health has always been a positive experience, with some small issues along the way. For example, I would get easily stressed when it comes to lots of schoolwork or preparing for a test. My experience with mental health has taught me to focus on prioritizing myself, helping my friends with what they are struggling with, and how we can spread awareness about mental health. I learned to prioritize myself when it comes to my mental health. Ever since I entered high school, that was when mental health became a bit more of a challenge for me. But, I learned to try different methods, such as mediation, putting time away at night for myself to relax and enjoy the present moment. As I got older, I learned that taking time for myself is important, and I learned to cherish every moment I have. For instance, I would hang out with my friends at the mall, and it feels so nice to cherish the moments that I have with them, because we are all just having fun and being teenagers. I also enjoy relaxing in peaceful public settings more, such as a dark, quiet restaurant with no windows. This is because it provides a peaceful, calming atmosphere, and I always believed that having no windows makes you feel more safe and comfortable. Taking the time to enjoy the time and little things in life can make life even more enjoyable. I learned to care for my friends mental health more as well, especially during my years of high school. They would start coming to me, in order to give them advice on how to deal with certain issues. For example, something happened to one of my friends during our junior year. It was so bad to the point where she cried, which was unusual because my friends and I know that she never cries. I started to notice that she stopped getting lunch from the cafeteria and did not feel safe whenever she even just looks in his direction. One day, I asked her if she wanted a snack and she agreed to it, only for me to realize that she stopped going to the cafeteria to avoid him. Since that day, I brought snacks for her every school day. Most recently, the friend, myself and another friend were talking during lunch, and when he walked past the room, she looks at me with wide eyes, looking rather shocked. However, I blocked her with my backpack so he will not try to talk to her. My friend's mental health was seemingly destroyed during this time period, but I, along with my other friends, made sure she felt safe and back to her usual, happy self. These experiences, along with other experiences, has taught me to be better with my mental health. It has also taught me how to take the initiative to take time to help my friends with their own mental health struggles. Sometimes, they might not want to talk to other people about their mental health, so I took the initiative to personally keep that door open. That way, they will always have someone to talk to. Ever since mental health had been a topic of discussion, I always try to help out the best way I can for others who are struggling and sometimes, that might be asking what happened, and if they refuse to share, I respect it and still give advice. It changed the understanding of the world for me because it made me realize that the world needs to take more time to themselves. I am in Drama Club, Link Crew and the National Honor Society in terms of school clubs, and I am grateful to say that it is all easy to manage.However, I hear some people who are in sports, AP classes, and many other clubs on campus, and are in many more clubs than myself. I believe that no matter who you are, we all need to take more time for ourselves. Even if it is just five minutes in a busy day, a little goes a long way. Mental health is always important to take care of. Taking care of yourself is always going to be important because it can help you remember to cherish the simple things in life. These things include hanging out with friends, resting in bed, playing soothing music or watching a TV show that you enjoy. We should all enjoy having fun, because in this busy world, cherishing the simple things will be important, especially in the future when adults may not have as much time as they do as kids and teenagers to relax. Making sure your friends take care of their mental health is also important because when they listen to your advice, it can help them change old habits and take care of themselves more as well. Thank you for considering me for the Ethel Hayes Destigmatization of Mental Health Scholarship.

My name is Kayla Brown and I am 16 years old. I am going to be a senior in high school and some of my hobbies include theatre, leadership, baking, and hanging out with my friends. Everyone has had their fair share of challenges, whether they are big or small, and we all have futures that we want to achieve, and how we prepare for them. A challenge that I have faced is during my high school career, while most of my teachers are friendly, one of them gave all of us a hard time. The teacher made math difficult and I never struggled with math before. I overcame this challenge by asking other math teachers for help, because they simplified the math to where I can understand, while the teacher for that class made it more confusing. An obstacle that I have faced is dealing with a doubtful father. He would say things, such as, "You cannot be Cinderella, you look way different from her!" or "Can you switch up playing different characters?" However, he has not even been to any of my shows. Everybody knows that I can play a wide range of characters, except him. I overcame this obstacle by making my dad come to my spring play. He stopped doubting me, but he still doubts me for other things and I overcame this obstacle by remembering my skills and listening to the ones who support me, along with the ones who doubt me, so I can prove the doubters wrong in the future. The future that I envision for myself is to graduate high school and college with the highest honors that I can accomplish. With how my records are looking, I am most likely going to be graduating with honors, with a cumulative 4.0 gpa. I am also on track to getting cords from Drama Club, Link Crew and National Honor Society, along with a perfect attendance award. When I get into college, I plan on working towards my Bachelor's Degree in Performing Arts. After college, I plan on becoming a successful actress, role model and leader. I plan on accomplishing this by continuing to work hard throughout the rest of my senior year, in order to maintain my strong cumulative gpa. along with applying for more scholarships in order to plan for my life after high school, while making it simpler, as I have been planning for this for awhile. I plan on continuing to work hard in college, and learning more theatre skills to be successful as an actress. I plan on going to auditions, but starting off small first. I plan on starting with being an extra for a bit, then move onto small roles, then eventually the main roles. I have always been a believer in starting off small first, in order to see and learn the process firsthand, then as I learn the process, I gradually move up until I get to where I want to be. In my life, I have many goals that I want to achieve, but they will not just happen overnight. I will need to work for them, so I can learn and grow my skills that I will need in order to become an actress. Through this, I will start off small, and move on to the main roles. By planning ahead, I can make my plans for success easier for myself. Thank you for considering this application for the Envision Scholarship Award.

During my time in school, we have been learning about mental health and how it affects us. Personally, it has affected my friends, along with myself. During high school, I have trying to take care of my mental health more often. I have been doing methods, such as meditation. We had more homework and when I started high school, I found it tough to balance the amount of homework, because it was more than elementary and middle school. But, with the proper self care, and reaching out to teachers about assignments, I was able to balance everything out and have fun at school. Everytime I hear about mental health, I always want to learn more, so I can learn about other ways to enjoy self care to get me through the times where I felt like I could not deal with the pressures of school work. Learning about mental health has helped me also help my friends who were struggling with their mental health. During theatre rehearsal, I noticed that a friend was not looking happy, when she generally is. I tried talking to her about it, but my other friends kept surrounding us and I figured she would want to talk about this alone. I was going to talk to her about it after rehearsal, but my best friend was in a hurry to leave because she has strict parents waiting for her, and she wanted me to walk with her. As we were speed walking out, I decided to text her about it. She tells me that she has been dealing with alot lately, and that day, in her words, "took the cake." I texted her and stayed until she felt better, which was about half an hour. After that discussion, I have decided to suprise her with a "care package," which was Jolly Ranchers, Ube Cookies, a note saying that the gift only belongs to her, and many other foods. She was so grateful, she hugged me and was happy again. This situation, along with other times I have helped my friends, has helped me learn about how to be an active listener, and how to take the initiative to help your friends out during the tough times they are facing. Being impacted by mental health, whether it is direct or indirect has helped me learn and grow as a person. Being impacted directly, it has helped change my perspective on life. During the school days, I am a busy, yet determined student who is always on her feet. So, learning to take time for myself, such as doing meditation and listening to calm music before bed has helped me wind down after long, but exciting days. It also has helped me learn to take my time when I have time to myself. When summer vacation started, I was happy to take my time with everything, knowing that I am in no rush to start my homework or go to bed. As a friend and student, it has helped me learn more about this topic. It has taught me to be a better active listener, and how much appreciation my friends have when I take the initiative to help them with their struggles. Being in high school has taught me that it is a fun time, but it can be stressful if not handled correctly. But, with the proper mental health practices, time management, and utilizing resources, we can all help each other out with mental health awareness. Thank you for opportunity to apply for the Elijah's Helping Hand Scholarship Award.

A time where I demonstrated tenacity was being a club secretary during a time when there was a lot of "firsts." These "firsts" were situations, such as delayed theaters newcomers, and a change in the presidency. On the first day of my junior year, I participated in helping out the freshman on the first day of school. After I completed my Link Crew duties, I went to my first four classes and when I went to my 5th, the Drama Club treasurer told me that our current president might step down. That would mean the current vice president would need to fill the presidency, and either myself or the other secretary fills the vice presidency. This was the first time I have ever heard of this happening, and in a few weeks, my other secretary and I were able to get the positions we originally wanted. She originally wanted the vice presidency, and I wanted to stay secretary. This was also during a time when we were supposed to get our new theaters, but we did not get them yet. Under our new president, we were waiting for our new theaters to open, but there were many delays and it could not open until the 2nd semester. So, instead of one play during each semester, we did two full length productions in the same semester, which was also something we never did before. All of the officers are friends, so whenever the president feels doubtful, I spoke with her personally to help her solve problems that were happening. I persevered through this by serving as a secretary who always was willing to help and remaining positive. For example, our theatre director asked me to take pictures on my off nights for Our Town, because the historian has a job and she could not make those nights. I also worked hard to make my characters a reality, and helped with set work. From this positive attitude, we were able to have successful shows, despite all of these challenges that we faced throughout the school year. This experience has taught me that we are a supportive group of friends who love theatre. We trust each other with our problems and worked to solved them. Personally, I learned to understand people on a different level and help them with whatever they needed. When I noticed that the president felt that there was something strange happening, we would talk about it. For example, someone was going to Disneyland on one of our final rehearsals that cannot be missed. When I told her, we planned to tell the director, but she revealed that another friend tried to tell him, but he dismissed her claim. The next day, he spoke to the class about it and then those kids did not get in trouble because their mom excused them on a doctor's appointment. Despite these challenges, we managed to have successful shows and have a positive, supportive energy among the cast. My junior year of theatre was a challenging, but fun time. Our theatres were delayed for the longest time, and we managed to still do theatre in the first semester with a blackbox theatre short play called Ghostlight. We overcame challenges among some of the new people in theatre and I managed to understand the president on a deeper level and help her solve problems that our director did not even pick up on. I personally learned how different people handled problems, but at the end of the day, we are a family. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to apply to this scholarship.

When I was younger, I owned a Barbie Dream House and I always wondered how it would look like if I got to make my own Barbie Dream House. My Barbie Dream House would be located in a magical forest, away from the real world. The forest will have a pink river, and pink clouds behind the Dream House. I want my Dream House to be away from the real world, so that way, I would not have to worry about intruders destroying the house. However, the house will be hidden from the California cities, but it is not far away from them, so I can go have fun adventures in the city. There will also be pink waterfalls in the forest, to provide even more of a beautiful scenery of where my Dream House will be located. My Barbie Dream House will be in both Barbie and I's signature color, pink. Just like Barbie's Dream House, it will be a half-house, and since its hidden, I would not have intruders. There will be a big slide going to all floors of the house, and this house will have four floors. The first floor would be the kitchen, where everything is covered in pink. From the tables to the floor, everything will be pink. There will also be an angel wing LED light for the nighttime, and a pink heart chandelier light decoration as well. The second floor is the exercise room, where I have my own built-in pink exercise equipment. For example, I would have a pink fit board, step board and exercise bike. The third floor will be the party room, which will have a pink disco ball, with pink floors and pink DJ board. There will even be a large pool inside the house with a built-in slide. The final floor will be my bedroom. I will have a Queen size pink bed, with a pink canopy and fairy lights. I will have a pink lamp, chandelier, and a full body mirror with flowers on the mirror. I would have pink walls with pink images spread across the room. I will also have images of my friends in my room, to remind myself of all the adventures we have had. There will also be four pink full size bathrooms. Special features of my dream house will include a pink LED light in every room. The first floor will be an angel wing sign, the second floor will have a dumbbell LED sign, the third will have a disco ball, and the fourth will be a tiara. There will be a slide in the third floor, going to the pool that is in the room. The outside slide will take me to the pink river, where my friends and I can also swim in. There will also be a pink elevator on the left side, so if I want to go on adventures, I would not get wet taking the slide to the river. Every floor will have pink string beads in every door way. The fourth floor will have pink curtains with curtain lights on them. All of the rooms will have pink TV's, and there will also be four pink balconies on each floor, so I can look at the beautiful forest view from different heights. On the balconies, there will be pink tables, chairs and will be under shaded areas. I will also have a massive pink walk-in closet, with multiple floors to store everything, from all my clothes to even storing my jewelry. Thank you for the opportunity to apply to this scholarship.

The movie that has had the greatest impact on my life is Zootopia. This movie has had the biggest impact on my life because it helped me realize, "You can be anything'', regardless of what anyone says. The movie starts off with Judy Hops being in a school play saying that she wants to be a police officer, and when she stood up to a bully, who tells her that she can only be a meter maid. This reflects my life because a similar situation happened to me in 4th grade. I got a flyer for a Cinderella play, and I told my parents that I am interested in being cast as Cinderella if I was able to be in the play. My dad and my grandma on his side laughs at me saying, "There's no black Cinderellas! You can be the Godmother or one of the sisters!" I tell my mom, and she told me that he was wrong and that Brandy was the first African-American woman to play Cinderella. I never got to do that in 4th grade, due to it being expensive, but I was able to play her in my sophomore year for a class assignment and had a fun time with the role. Despite Judy being told that she could not achieve her dream, she still went for it, regardless of what other people said. She remembered what the people who doubted her has told her, and used that to push herself, and an example of that was when she was first training to be a police officer. In 2nd grade, I initially had a condescending teacher, and she made me cry a couple of times and mistreated me to where I did not want to go to school. I told my mom and she had a talk with her. She tells my mom, "Kayla is slow in class." She also gave my mom a worksheet that she did not give me initially, but gave the rest of the class. As I am approaching my senior year, I am a straight A student with a cumulative 4.0 gpa, managed a total of 7 honors classes so far, managed two officer positions in the the same year, involved with two clubs, and 3 honor societies, and am known for being a great student, while also having perfect attendance since Kindergarten. I used the motivation of my supporters, and what the people who doubted me said in order to get myself to where I am today. In the end, both Judy and Nick move up to being police officers at the end of the movie. This scene in particular made me want to work even harder to achieve my goals. I am working towards my goal of becoming an actress, and I am currently in theatre since freshman year. I have been in plays, ranging from different roles from a rebellious daughter in her 20's to a sweet girl who marries the love of her life. I have been working towards different roles in plays and managed to reach Honor Thespian rank, and am working towards to next level, National Honor Thespian. Zootopia has had the greatest impact in my life and still remains my favorite movie to this day. It was a funny movie with its emotional moments, and has taught me that I can be anything. Looking back on my years of school to how I am now, I am grateful that I never gave up, no matter how hard it was, I remembered to push myself to get to where I am today.

Selflessness means to put one's needs before your own. Selflessness is a trait that good friends and great leaders have. I have shown selflessness by volunteering, leading a class, and helping out a friend who was struggling with a monologue. I have volunteered at Central Care Physical Therapy as a part of my community service hours for the National Honor Society. During that time, I helped the therapists by wiping down the exercise equipment. I have also learned about how the therapists work with the patients in order to help them out. I took the initiative to wipe down when I was not asked to, so it was already clean for the next patient. I chose to volunteer at Central Care so I can see how the therapists work and help them out by saving time by cleaning the equipment, and learned new things. I lead my 4th period theatre class in an unexpected time. My friends and I were waiting for the teacher to open the door, but when it was opened, we had a substitute and everyone was confused. The substitute told us that our teacher went to chaperone for the senior field trip, but he never told us the day before that he was going to be absent. We were given two worksheets. I was working with a small group of friends, while others were working by themselves. I helped out people whenever they would ask me questions, and I was one of the first to finish. The substitute was about to take role, and I knew that more than half the class was out, and some people were out, but were not seniors. So, I helped the substitute take role, and I ended up being the "unofficial co-substitute" for the day. People were coming to me, asking me questions ranging from, "What time does class end?" as we were on late start schedule to "Kayla, can you help me with this question?" I stepped up to lead the class during a time of confusion, and was able to provide a calm, relaxing atmosphere for everyone. I also stepped up to help a friend with a monologue he has been struggling with. My teacher gave us time during two days to practice the monologues in class. On one of my senior friend's last day of school, she stepped up to help our friend with his monologue and I was watching her help him. I was also there to reiterate what she was telling him, along with practicing my own monologues. The next day, she already graduated, so I took over and helped him with his monologues. I continued what she told him, but helped him in my own way, and helped him by walking with him as he was practicing. He was able to memorize the parts he needed to and he was extremely grateful that she and I both helped him out. Being apart of a supportive community has helped me learn and grow as a person and a leader. I helped the community by volunteering with Central Care, and I got the opportunity to help out the patients and therapists. Being apart of a supportive community has also helped me outside of community service hours and helped me grow as leader. Besides serving as secretary for Drama Club and Link Crew, I took the initiative to step up and lead a class during a confusing 4th period session, and also helped out a friend who was struggling with his monologue. Being selfless have taught me that we can help each other and grow as leaders.

My unique contribution I would give the world to make mental health more affordable is to incorporate both art and mental health care in a way that everyone will enjoy. I would spread the word by incorporating my passion for theatre, and use it to spread the message for mental health and how to make it more affordable. In my freshman year of high school, my theatre teacher given us a pantomime project that had to be at least two minutes long. I have decided to use my project to take a more serious direction in my art, and I tackled the issues that teenagers faced. I tackled issues that included starving oneself, getting lots of homework, and how it can make it feel like a person can feel, "trapped" in an invisible box. I want to continue to spread awareness about serious issues, and I can use theatre to spread awareness about how we can make mental health more affordable and accessible to anyone who needs support. I believe that we can spread important messages in many different creative outlets. Some people could write stories or news articles about the cause, or others might hold charity shows that have performers to spread the cause. Through my contribution, I can spread the word from doing theatre, whether it is pantomime, improv, written scenes or other different theatre methods to spread the word to many different people who need support in finding more accessible and affordable mental health care.

A high school teacher who deeply influenced me is my theatre teacher. He has influenced how I am being continued to be seen as a leader, encouraged me to continue pursuing theatre, and also changed my approach in my life. Before I joined theatre, I have always been seen as a leader. I was able to be the Renaissance Commissioner in my first year of ASB in middle school. I have also always been the one to take the leadership role in group assignments, which all turned out successful. When I joined theatre, I was able to move up to the next level as a freshman, when it is not a normal thing for them to do. As I am continuing to do theatre, he always came to me when he needs help sorting out doubles for could not make the shows last minute. I was also the secretary for Drama Club, he also trusted me do complete some of the duties that the President and Vice President generally do, such as being in charge of the rehearsals that we did in class when he was out for a week. His trust has helped me grow as a leader. He gave me roles that I never expected to portray, and through that experience, I learned that I can grow as an actor and pursue theatre as a career. For the longest time, my dad always said things such as, "Can you play different characters?" along with also doubting my acting abilities. My dad also even told me that I cannot play Cinderella because I am African-American and Filipino, and that Cinderella looks nothing like me. He gave me the opportunity to play Cinderella for an in class assignment, and he, along with my classmates enjoyed my portrayal of Cinderella. I also played characters who were the exact opposite of myself, to being roles that were similar to myself. My dad was able to see our first spring play, Our Town. My teacher gave me the honor of playing one of the lead roles, Emily Webb. After the show, he stopped doubting my abilities and he saw what my friends who watched the play thought of it. It was because of my teacher's talent for casting people in roles that fit them, it made me want to continue to pursue theatre, and to let anyone who doubted me be what encourages me to work harder. My theatre teacher is also the one who helped me change how I approached my life. He showed me that I can play any role given to me, regardless of what my dad would say. His trust in me also made me realize that people should not judge my acting ability if they never even see me act. This new approach to my life has taught me to work harder to achieve my own goals and to grow as a leader. He also counts on me to introduce new people to the class or Drama Club and even dubbed me as the one who always supports the group. My theatre teacher has trusted me with many things these past three years, and taught me many things. He taught me to keep going because in theatre, 90% of the process is rehearsal and that we cannot get all the roles we want. He still encourages all his students to continue into theatre after high school, but even if we do not want do after high school, he supports us on whatever path we choose. He has also helped me grow as a leader, along with acting abilities.

It was in 5th grade when I decided that I love the performing arts and want to pursue theatre as a career. I want to continue to pursue theatre because it has been so much fun to play characters that are extremely different from myself. I am motivated to continue acting because when we perform, I get a rush of adrenaline from all of the positive energy we get when we open to when we close. I would continue to add to the spirit of the creation of storytelling by adding my taste and striving to bring uniqueness to theatre and how I play the characters that I am cast in. It has been so much fun playing characters that are different from myself. I played a role of a mom in my 5th-grade play, and I had fun with being on stage to the point where I decided that I want to continue with theatre. Then, I joined the theatre in my freshman year of high school and I already knew that I want to be heavily involved in theatre. My teacher then gives the class a pantomime that has to be at least two minutes long, I already knew what I wanted to do in the pantomime. I had my pantomime deal with the issues that are common for teenagers to deal with, and shortly after, I was asked to move up to the Advanced Theatre course that was also taught by him. I joined and got even more acting tips and feedback that was not given in Intro Theatre. Then, in my Sophomore, Junior, and now my Senior year, he lets us stay in Production and Performance, the highest level he teaches, so we can get in more rehearsal time than we got in Drama Club. During the time of the plays, I played so many characters ranging from a sassy teenager, a rebel daughter, a sweet daughter, a shy girl, an angry costume manager, a sarcastic girl, and Zazu, a sassy bird assistant. While playing these characters, people praised me over the fact that I can play characters that are the exact opposite of myself, and even play the sweet girl roles, and this motivates why I will continue with theatre after high school. I am motivated to continue with theatre because we accomplish an overall positive atmosphere, along with myself achieving things that a freshman at that time usually does not accomplish. At the end of my freshman year, I already moved up to Advanced Theatre, taking on Production and Performance for the next three years of my high school career. I also got inducted into the International Thespian Society at the end of my freshman year, which is something that he told us that sophomores, juniors, and seniors would commonly get. Along with my success, I am also motivated to continue with theatre because we accomplish a positive atmosphere. I can admit that my theatre friends and I will sometimes get stressed, but I realized early on that this always happens, and we always have a positive outcome in the end. We have a resilient group of talented kids who work hard to achieve making theatre a reality for us. We did our first musical in April and even though it was more work than what we did in Our Town, we still pulled through and all complimented each other. We also have a bonding activity we do on closing night, and it always brings up closer. This energy motivates me to continue with theatre. I am going to continue bringing my uniqueness and taste to the characters I portray. Of all the roles I played, the most difficult one was in The Plot, Like Gravy, Thickens. I was given the role of Debra Worthington. In the script, every character got a mini description of how their characters are supposed to be, except Debra. It just stated her age and who she is related to. I decided to develop my way of playing her. Both my double and I were trying to create our ways of playing Debra and we ended up with the exact opposite. My double played a sweeter version of Debra, while mine was more angry and sassy. While I was playing her, I threw off so many people because they were surprised at how I developed her to be the exact opposite of myself, and they thought I was being scary in my character. I even slammed my hand firmly, but gently when she was yelling at another character for flirting with the maid. After that experience, I have decided to see how I can bring my twist to the characters I am cast to portray, and seeing these reactions to these twists shows the diversity of the roles. These are the reasons why I want to continue with theatre after high school. It gives me a sense of power, knowing that I can bring my twists to the characters I am cast in. It also shows a positive atmosphere among my fellow cast members, and it is an enjoyable experience to play many characters who are different from who I am. It also motivates me to become even more successful in my field, while having fun in the process.

To be a DRIVEN student means that you dare to demonstrate: Determination, Respect, Innovation, Versatility, Equality, and Nurture. In life, there are many ways to show these traits in your character and these traits can help a person grow and to learn new things in life. Last month, my 4th-period teacher gave us an assignment where we had to memorize a monologue. One of the characters was from King Lear, and in my teacher's words, he says, "You have to be mean." I took that challenge and my friend and I both wanted to practice that monologue. She was going to graduate in a couple of weeks, but she still decided to help me with the monologue. She and a few other friends have been focused on this assignment and I was able to memorize it in two days. My friend who practiced the monologue with me has helped me continue to show determination because whenever I get handed characters to learn, I always want to learn their lines fast, so I would keep on practicing. When it was time to perform the monologue, my teacher says, "That was a commanding performance!" This made me show respect because I already have lots of respect for the friend who helped me and when he said that I gave a commanding performance, she was always told that and he would tell me that too, but it felt more like "passing down" since she graduated and I still have one more year of high school. When we were doing our second and third monologues last month, after she graduated, I provided new ways to finish what she started with another one of my friends. On her last of school, she was helping one of my friends with his monologue and I was also there to reiterate what she was telling him. They were already making great progress, but then on our actual last day of school, we were given time to practice. I practiced mine, but we did not have to memorize all of it. I memorized the second one, but we were allowed to do a dramatic reading for the third one. Then, I went over to my friend who she was helping, and I demonstrated innovation because while I was still incorporating her way of showing him, I acted out the monologue, but with what she was telling him about, "Imagine that you're talking to a king" and after following him with the monologue practice, he was able to memorize the monologue. This demonstrates versatility because I was acting in a different character monologue that I did not have for my actual monologues. I demonstrated equality and nurture when my 4th-period teacher was out to chaperone for a senior field trip. I understood the assignments, so I was helping out students with them. There were many seniors out, along with people who were not seniors for different reasons. I helped the substitute take the role to save him the confusion about which people are excused or not. After he and I took the role, people were asking me other questions, ranging from what time it was, to getting help on the assignments. This demonstrates equality and nurture because even though I was the "unofficial co-substitute", I did not act like I was above anyone else and took care of the class. When you are a DRIVEN student, you learn from the experiences that you overcome to grow as a leader and a person. Being in my theatre class showed me that when there are obstacles, you will eventually overcome them.

My grandpa has had Pancreatic Cancer and it has impacted my beliefs, relationships and career aspirations positively. I have learned to cherish life more, it strengthened my relationships with my family and motivated me to pursue what I love doing. Firstly, I have learned to cherish life more. I already have been enjoying my life, but after seeing how my grandpa was affected by cancer, I found out about what restrictions he had to do. Such restrictions included drinking only three bottles of water, and if he had soup, it would count as his liquid towards his three bottles. As I saw him doing these restrictions, it made me cherish how I and everyone else who does not have cancer, do not need to make these restrictions. After he passed away, my family and I all honored him, and we all felt that we can cherish our lives even more and make our lives more enjoyable. Secondly, it strengthened my relationships with my mom's side of the family. When he passed away two years ago, we were all devastated. But, my aunt gave us a better way to look at his passing, which was, "He is in a better place now." We then all met up for the memorial, and while my grandpa's siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and most of my family were in tears, we had a positive aftermath. My cousins and I met two new friends and hung out on the stage. We talked about the things we liked and had fun with them. We also met our other grandpas and grandmas and were able to connect. After the memorial, we have been able to have more family outings planned and were able to talk more, since I do not get to see my mom's side of the family as much as I would like. Lastly, it motivated me to pursue what I love. I have a passion for theatre and want to become an actress, and I know that my grandpa wants me to do what makes me happy. My mom's side of the family would always want me to pursue my desired career as an actress. They have all been involved in the arts in different ways. My aunt and uncle were in the band in high school, my cousins are in the choir and the Singing Company, and I am involved in theatre. He always supported me in my desire to become an actress, so I strive every day to make my dream a reality. The passing of my grandpa has positively affected me. It pushed a stronger belief of cherishing your life, because we do not know when it can be taken away from us. It strengthened my already strong bonds with my family, and it even got us to meet other members of the family that we have never met before. It motivated me to push myself to make my dream a reality, which is to become an actress because he always supported us in everything that we wanted to pursue.

Leadership is the ability to step up to help your team reach a common goal. It is the ability to help out others and provide a kind atmosphere while helping out. I have demonstrated leadership by helping out a substitute teacher and my classmates and serving as both the Drama Club and Link Crew secretary. I hope that in the future, I can achieve growing more as a leader and become a role model for others. Firstly, I helped out when there was a substitute teacher. Last month, the seniors were on a field trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain and some people who were not seniors were also out of class too. So, more than half the class was out and to our surprise, our teacher was out too. We found out that he was chaperoning and we ended up with a substitute. We were given two worksheets and were able to work in groups. I understood the assignments and was able to help out others. The substitute then takes the role. I knew that it would be harder since more than half of the class was not present. I went up to him and helped him take the role. It was successfully taken, and I was one of the first to finish the worksheets and I was able to help out the others. I was also the one to who students came to ask questions, whether it was for time or help on the worksheets. I also provided a calm and peaceful atmosphere where students can come to me with their questions. Secondly, during the school year, I served as club secretary in two clubs, Drama Club and Link Crew. In Link Crew, I was trusted with taking notes and also worked with my fellow officers to plan games for the freshman. Every year, we do an orientation for the incoming freshman and we helped out with the games that we were going to play with the freshman and lead our own freshmen groups. In Drama Club, I was also tasked with taking notes and working with my fellow officers to organize thespian membership sheets. I was also trusted, along with the president and vice president to run rehearsals when the teacher was out for a week. In both of these clubs, I was able to understand how the secretary works with their fellow officers to grow as a leader, how taking notes helps the club remember what was discussed, how organizing membership is much faster as a group, and we were able to provide an overall welcoming and kind atmosphere for the members of both of these clubs. From these leadership opportunities, I was able to grow as a leader. I want to continue to make a kind and welcoming atmosphere and I want to continue to grow as a leader even more. I want to become an actress, and since it is a common trope fame can change your personality and you can lose sight of who you are. It is not true for everybody, but I noticed that some celebrities act differently as the years go on. As a leader, I want to push for being a humble actress who never lost sight of herself, and want to encourage others to do the same. I have demonstrated leadership by being a secretary for two clubs and even got to be the "unofficial co-substitute" for my 4th-period class. These opportunities helped me learn that it is important to lead professionally because it will help you gain respect and people will not be scared to ask questions.

Leadership is the ability to step up into a situation, which to help your team reach a common goal. Leaders will also make it a welcoming atmosphere for the team they are leading. What makes me a leader is that I make it a welcoming atmosphere for my team, demonstrated collaborative leadership, and am always willing to help out. Firstly, I have made it a welcoming atmosphere for the group I am trusted to work with. Last month, my 4th-period theatre teacher was out suddenly but none of us knew why. The substitute told us that he is chaperoning for the senior field trip to Six Flags. When the substitute handed us the assignments for the day, I was working with a group of friends to help out, and as I was finishing the assignment, many people asked me for help on the assignments, and I helped them out. When the substitute was taking the role, I knew that many students were out that day, and I was also the Drama Club secretary. So, these outcomes lead to me helping the substitute take the role, and it leads to me being "the unofficial co-substitute." By being in this position, I made it a calming atmosphere where people can ask me for help on anything they needed, such as if it was just the time we got out of class. The substitute let me play music too, and I chose calm songs to make it a peaceful atmosphere as well. Secondly, I have a collaborative leadership style. It is a style of leadership in which the person in a position of power wants to hear what other people need to say about an important subject matter. When I was Renaissance Commissioner in 8th grade, my friend and I were both in charge of the Renaissance Rally. Our group all had different opinions on what the Rally theme should be. We both listened to what everybody had to say and decided on a Circus theme. When we were also tasked with making posters, we assigned jobs based on what the group was comfortable with and capable of. That way, we were able to run into fewer problems because they were comfortable with the tasks assigned to them. Lastly, I am always willing to help out. A similar situation happened in my 5th period my history teacher told us that there will be a substitute for us for the next day because she needed to take her soccer team away at a game. The next day, nobody was there to let us in the classroom, so the teacher next door had to let us in. We spent half the class without a substitute, and a student was taking the role. I then helped him out with it, and as he sat down, I volunteered to take the role sheet down to the attendance. My friend offered to go with me, so we both were heading down, but then the teacher next door came in to supervise for a little while. I was then called the substitute by another student, and as the substitute came in half an hour after class, I left my teacher a note, explaining what happened and we ended up getting pizza for good behavior. Being a leader is more than just stepping up, it is the ability to provide a welcoming and trusting atmosphere to your team. If a leader does not provide that, they would not be trusted with power, and people would not listen to them. This would take away trust from the team.

When I was in 4th grade, I auditioned for my first play. I was a shy person at the time, so it was a scary experience. This experience affected me because it taught me about rejection, and I learned to keep going, while also developing a passion for theatre as a got older. I auditioned for one of the main roles, "Kid #2" and I had to work with three other students for Kids #1, 3, and 4. This was a different experience because I had no idea how theatre worked at the time, so I did not know how Kid #2 was supposed to be played. When I auditioned, I kept a normal tone and performed to the best of my ability. When another girl auditioned for the same part, she did amazing and she ended up getting the part, while I was her understudy. I congratulated her, but then I considered not acting in the 5th-grade play for next year. But, I ended up getting the role of "Diane Finestein", and even though she only had one line, I ended up having fun with her part. After we closed the play, I decided to try to audition for the 5th-grade Christmas play the following year. The next year, as the Christmas play was approaching, my best friend was talking to me about the play, and said that she is going to audition for the role of the daughter, "Marilyn Mullins". She wanted me to audition for the mom of the family, "Mrs. Mullins", so that way we can be mother and daughter in the play together. I agreed and as I started to become more extroverted, I felt confident about this role. I practiced and when it was audition day, I was ready to play the part and as I was having fun, people were telling me that they were confident that I got the part. As the cast was revealed, I ended up getting the part I wanted, and my best friend got the part she wanted. We were excited and I had so much fun, that after the play closed, I decided to continue acting in the future. This experience taught me to keep going, and that you cannot expect to be cast in the role you wanted every time. By continuing with this path, I was able to continue with theatre. In my freshman year, I took an Introduction to Theatre class, and I was excited to do so. My teacher is a talented and funny man, and he would give us crosswords and theatre tips. As we were nearing the end of the semester, he moves me up to his Advanced Theatre course for the second semester of my freshman year. I was shocked because that class is for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Another freshman and I were the only ones to get moved up that year. I ended up having so much fun and learned more than I did in my Intro class. This motivated me to take his highest level, Production and Performance. I am still in theatre today, as I am going to be a senior and I have gotten many thespian awards. From this experience, I learned not to give up. I should not have expected to get the part I wanted in 4th grade. I knew that it was my first time, and it ended up getting me out of my shell to become an extroverted person who loves theatre. If I gave up, I would not have developed the passion that I have for theatre today.

The dream version of my future self is that I am a student who has graduated high school with many cords and stoles, go to college with many cords and stoles as well, then become a successful actress.

Leadership is an important skill to have in life because it shows the ability and willingness to step up when things are getting tough for the group you are leading. To be a leader means that you can work towards a common goal, hear everyone's opinions and work towards goals as a team. Leadership is important to me because you can gain more respect, gain more skills, and most importantly, step up when it is needed. Firstly, as a leader, you gain more respect from your peers. This year, I was the secretary in my Drama Club and Link Crew clubs, and my job was to take notes for both of these clubs. My club advisers also would speak with my fellow officers from both clubs, along with myself, to work towards the common goals of a team. As Drama Club secretary, I was able to work with the president in sorting out things, such as working with the thespian sheets, to taking the minutes of the meetings. As Link Crew secretary, I also got to take minutes at the meetings, and I also got to help the other officers think of games to play with the freshman. Secondly, you can gain more leadership skills. During my time when I was doing volunteer service for the National Honor Society, I volunteered at Central Care Physical Therapy. During my time there, I was wiping down exercise equipment. While I was wiping down the equipment, I also was learning about how the therapists work with the patients to help them work towards their goals of making their patients feel less pain in the areas that they are coming to get worked. For example, I got to see firsthand how the kids would play games such as soccer or throwing a ball on a trampoline and what equipment they needed to see the next patient. As for the adults, I would see them on the trampolines or the exercise bikes. This volunteer experience has led to me learning the skills needed to step up and know to clean what the therapists needed, while also learning what the patients and therapists go through during their sessions. Lastly, leadership is important because it shows a willingness to step up when it is needed. One time, my 4th-period teacher, who is also the Drama Club adviser was out of class, but we did not know why. The substitute told us that he went to go chaperone for the senior trip. Along with the sudden absence of our teacher, a lot of the seniors were out, and some students who were not seniors were absent for other reasons. I knew that the sub was going to have a lot of people absent, I stepped up to help the sub take the role. Along with helping with taking the role, I also stepped up to help the students with the assignments that were given to us. Everybody was coming to me, either asking me for help on the assignments, asking what time we got out of class, or just questions about other things. Leadership is important because you can gain more respect, gain more leadership skills, and step up when it is needed. This is important because these traits can all help towards future goals and job opportunities. To me, leadership means to be because it shows that you do not need to boss people around, and instead, focus on learning and growing as a leader and stepping up to help your team work towards a common goal.

My favorite song on Taylor Swift's 1989 album is New Romantics. It is my favorite song on the album because it is a song that reminds me of fun times, it has a meaningful message, and it is different from her previous material. Firstly, New Romantics is my favorite song on the 1989 album because it reminds me of fun times in my life. When I first heard the song, it is an upbeat tune that reminded me of all of the nostalgic things in my life and continuing to do those things in my life. It reminds me of the time that I got to view the city lights in Las Vegas with my mom's side of the family, and then we went to a sushi restaurant late at night, which is something I have never done before. We were all laughing, enjoying the lights, and having a great time overall, which made me feel free. This takes me back to the song because one of the song lyrics talks about how free people are the best in life, and I agree with her because when you are free, you can forget your cares and have a good time. Secondly, New Romantics has a meaningful message. The meaning of the song is that finding a happy ending in a relationship is unlikely and that the best people in life are free. It talks about how we do not need to rely on a relationship to have a good time. This message resonates with me because at my age, people want to start dating and lots of people are already in relationships. As for myself, I do not see the reason why others want to be in relationships so quickly and that they should just love themselves first and focus on what is important now, then date later when they are more mature. I would also want to have fun and make memories with friends, instead of losing out on making memories with friends if I know that I am not ready for that kind of thing. Lastly, this album is different than her previous material. 1989 takes a more realistic approach to relationships and life, while her previous albums had more fictional concepts to them, while still incorporating her experiences into her past albums. A big contrast would be in her song, Love Story, where she sings about her favorite fairytale, Romeo and Juliet. She sings about Romeo and Juliet falling in love, and associating her love experience with the fairy tale. In New Romantics, she takes more of a realistic approach to love, while not disassociating with the other people in her age group. She believes that happy endings are unlikely and wants to have fun in her life. New Romantics is my favorite song from Taylor Swift's album, 1989 because of happy times, it has a meaningful message, and it is different from her previous material. This song reminds the listener that being in a relationship can be fun, but if you are not in one at the moment, you should not rush to get into one because having fun with your friends, family, or even yourself can be more enjoyable because you know that you are free.

My experience with mental health has shaped my goals, relationships, and understanding of the world by showing me how many different people struggle with mental health, strengthened my friendships, and taught me that there are ways to help people who are struggling with mental health, even if it is just small ways to make their days. In this world, so many people struggle with mental health. In school, we were taught about lots of things that can cause stress, such as short-term stressors and long-term stressors. We also learned about how people can feel that they are not seen and feel as if they cannot be helped, which can eventually lead to suicide. There are many ways that people can seek help, such as talking to a trusted person and being a good friend to help that person with what they are struggling with. By showing me how many people struggle with mental health and suicide, I am aware of how I can help people who are struggling with mental health. In my experience with mental health, it has also strengthened my friendships. Throughout my high school years, I have seen so many of my friends just look sad, tired, or zoned out and when I catch that, I talk to them about it to make sure that they are feeling okay. An example of this is when Drama Club was having a rehearsal, and while most of us were having fun, one of my friends was not feeling happy. When I spotted this, I decided to go talk to her about it after rehearsal. One of my other friends did not notice that she was sad, but he still was being his normal, energetic and happy self, and he and I were making jokes to cheer her up. After rehearsal, I talk to her about what was happening and she tells me that she has been feeling stressed and that today is just taking over. After talking to her about it, I helped her and she was extremely grateful. I took it upon myself to make what I called a "care package" which was just a bag filled with treats. I gave it to her the next day, and she got so happy, she thanked me and hugged me. This experience has taught me that people can struggle with something bothering them, even if it is just a short-term thing, and can strengthen friendships because taking the time to notice and talk to someone about it, can help you understand them on a deeper level and become even stronger friends. This experience has also taught me that there are many ways to help people out, even if it is just a small act of kindness. I have the power to help out people in need, such as talking to people about how their feeling, or if they are contemplating suicide, I can provide them with the necessary help they need to help them. This has shaped my understanding of the world because it taught me that people can feel that there is no help and resources to help them, but there are many resources out there and even someone as simple as a friend can help out by listening to what they have to say. I have always believed that small acts of kindness can make anyone's day. The world has many opportunities to provide help to those who need it, and we can all be supportive friends to the ones who are struggling. My experience with mental health has helped me show that many people struggle with mental health, it can strengthen friendships and taught me that small acts of kindness can make someone's day, along with ways that we can also help those who are struggling with mental health. The world has people who are understanding when it comes to mental health, while others can dismiss the issue. We can all educate the people who do not have as much of an understanding of mental health so that we can help the people who are struggling and be supportive on their journey to getting the help they need.

My name is Kayla Brown. I am currently 16 years old and will be starting my senior year this August. Once I graduate high school next year, I plan on going to college to pursue a degree in Visual and Preforming Arts. I am most passionate about playing different characters, making memories and learning new techniques to improve my performance. While pursuing my major, I am most passionate about playing different characters. I enjoy playing many different characters that are different than who I am. When I am offstage, I am a 16-year-old girl who has many friends, is kind and is always known for being bright and happy. But, when I am onstage, all of that changes. I can be playing a wide range of characters, such as an intimidating girl, or a shy girl who falls in love and gets married. As I play these characters, my cast members would always tell me that I did great and even surprised a few people. I am also most passionate about making memories in the theatre. I am currently in the International Thespian Society and my high school's drama club, and ever since I joined, I have made so many friends and seen them grow as actors and people. I have also pushed personal boundaries and got to play characters that I never imagined playing. In my sophomore year, my first time playing a character with no given personality, I was confused at first about how she could be portrayed because she can be played in many different ways. So, I decided to play her with an attitude and sassy, but still nice enough to care for her aunt, mom, and staff workers. Since that play ended, people still tell me today that I suit the character very well. Through these memories, I have grown as an actress and made many new friends who support each other's endeavors. Lastly, I am also most passionate about learning new techniques. In my 4th period, drama club rehearsal, and even through friends, I get taught all these techniques that help me improve my performance even more. In my spring production that happened in March, one of my friends gave me a tip on going monotone when she returns to the grave, which is something I did not do on the previous nights. So, as I delivered my intense monologue for the last time, I took her advice on going monotone when my character meets her character in the graveyard once again, and I felt so powerful after delivering that through her advice. I thanked her and our theatre director said that I gave a commanding performance. As I continue to receive advice, it led to my performances becoming even more powerful and even helped me advise others in my thespian troupe as well. I am passionate about pursuing a degree in Visual and Performing Arts because I want to continue to play even more different characters, make more memories with all the new people I will meet, and have the desire to learn and grow even more as an actress. Pursuing this degree will help me grow in these areas, and also help me gain even more skills to help me grow as an actress.

My favorite thing about Disney is that there are so many different characters and stories that can apply to everyone's life. My personal experience is that when I was younger, I was watching The Princess and The Frog, and I saw Princess Tiana. When I saw her, I felt that there was a princess that looked like me, and I was extremely grateful. I feel that this is truly impactful for girls who feel like there is not a character that they can relate to that look like them. Besides having a princess who looks like themselves, she is also an independent woman who has a supportive circle around her, and gets a happy ending at the end of the movie. As I am growing up, I would see little girls getting excited when they would see characters that look much like themselves, and relate highly to these characters. Disney has given so many people the opportunity to relate to other characters who's ethnicities are not represented as much in the media. Along with Tiana, we have Moana, Mulan, Pocahontas, and many other characters that people can relate to. Ever since I saw Tiana, I always get excited when I see characters in other media that have a resemblance to me, and even act like me. Lastly, as I was growing up and watching Tiana, along with all the other Black characters in Disney media, it shaped me into the person I am today. Tiana taught me to be independent, and that there are positive black main characters in the media, that do not always need to be deemed as, "the main character's sidekick." Black people have their own mindset and opinions too, so it would always confuse me as to why a new show comes out, and the black character is always the sidekick, or the villain. Tiana gave me the opportunity to realize that all black people and people of color do not need to get pushed to the side all the time, and we can have our own opinions be heard as well. I am grateful to have grown up with Disney in my life. It has given me the opportunity to see and experience at a young age that everyone has a character that they can relate too that will inspire themselves to be the best versions of themselves, and that we do not need to be held down by the general standards that society had placed on us. We all have the power to break boundaries and make our own, and that all starts will the power the positive influence we see in the media today.