I was sitting on the beach with my mom, dad, and two dogs and we listened to the waves crash into the sand and was able to not worry about anything in my life and I felt calm and so happy. I got to breathe the fresh air and soak up the sun with people I care the most about.

My favorite artist is Bo Burnham because of the way he puts his feelings into music. I relate to his newest special called "Inside" where he makes a comedy special by himself and shows the behind-the-scenes on how he truly feels during the pandemic and being stuck in his home by himself. It is beautifully shot and he put emotions that I felt into words that just really touched my heart.

I am interested in a STEM degree because I feel like with my skillset I have what it takes to make a difference in the world. I grew up surrounded by Computer Science due to my father teaching it, so I learned a lot at a young age. I want to be able to be a role model for the young African American girls who want to go into the STEM programs, but feel like they don't belong or that they won't get respect in the field. I am willing to take a stand and be the minority in the program. I grew up seeing how the world was in the STEM program and that people like me weren't often in it. Looking at the programs that were very men-heavy discouraged me quite a lot, especially when I was younger. I even see it now when I am in my coding class. I see that for every girl there are 5 boys. I want to be that one person that excels in the program and shows that it doesn't matter what you look like to be in STEM, as long as you have a passion for it and are strong and assertive. My dad pushed me to try it and I ended up enjoying Computer Science more than I expected and he would tell me that being in CompSCi and having a passion for it would be a huge step for women in STEM programs as well African American women in STEM. When I first became active in Computer Science and was learning I would be one of the only people in the classrooms that were African American. It was very hard for me to be in an environment where I don't feel like I belong there just because of the color of my skin. It has nothing to do with my academic record or even the fact that I am female. I want to be the person to be uncomfortable so in the future there will be more people like me to make the environment more comfortable as a whole. My major is 3D digital Design and VFX and that requires a bunch of different skills. I love this major because it gives me the connections for different fields in STEM whether it is website design, film, animation, and modeling, or even game design. Even with all of the different sub-majors I still feel like I don't belong. I want to make a difference in this world and for an African American woman, that means doing extra networking to make sure you have connections for the future as well as recommendations for job opportunities. I am working hard to make a more woman and African American-friendly work environment within the STEM community and standing up for those who feel like they have no voice.

The first time I experienced the arts in my community was when I saw Peter Rabbit at the Children's Theatre. The story took me in and I was immediately immersed in the characters and the plot at such a young age. I remember seeing the actors and actresses on stage performing and having a great time and realizing that I wanted to be on stage and I wanted to change lives like the production of Peter Rabbit did to me that day. Seeing how the production came to life and how they interacted with the crowd and had me on the edge of my seat. I remember after it was done I demanded we get the CD so I could learn all the words and perform it on my own. My favorite teacher at high school was Jody Mangino. I went to an arts high school and I had her for dance which was my focus during half of my day. She was my favorite because she challenged me every day and pushed me to be a stronger dancer and a better storyteller overall. I had her for two years and for three classes and she got to see me blossom into a more confident and powerful dancer. A lesson she taught me was to always believe in myself. I had more talent than I knew of, but I was always nervous to fully show what I could do, yet she helped me gain my confidence. She saw potential in me and made sure that I got the opportunities I needed to increase my skill set. I think that the arts help the communities by bringing people together; whether it is for a musical production or even for an art gallery. It brings people in with a shared interest and puts together something that is very magical and life-changing for some people. An event that I would try to create for my community would be a dance class for all ages. I would have a dance warmup that I would teach to the group and then use to get them used to moving around and their space. Then I would dive into the dance combination. I would teach it slowly so people have a chance to catch on and ask questions if needed. I would then let people perform it for the class in groups if they want to. It will be a fun way to get out of your comfort zone and learn a new skill. It also would be a great workout for everybody and a way to express yourself in a new way. A time that I failed was when I was auditioning for a singing role for a show that my Arts high school was putting on. I didn't prepare the way I should've when going into it because I didn't think that I was actually going to go for it. The director asked for volunteers who wanted to go first for the singing auditions. I was nervous, but I decided that this would be my chance to wow people. I volunteered to go first and the others cheered me on. He played the music and I realized shortly that I didn't know all of the words. I sang what I could and then muttered what I didn't know in hopes that he wouldn't actually think I didn't know the words. When I made it through I was proud of myself for putting myself out there. Others went and did well also and I slowly didn't feel like it would go my direction. In the end, he announced who got the part and my heart shattered. I wasn't chosen and I immediately felt like I was going to cry. I had really hoped to be the lead in the number and felt like I could've done way better if I was given more time to prepare. It really hurt my singing confidence quite a bit because I thought I sounded good and fit the role. I realized that I need to work harder on my stage presence and the way I perform the song and not just sing it. In my senior year of high school, I had another opportunity to have a singing role in our opening number for the showcase. We all had to audition so I figured that I might as well go for it. When it was my turn I sang with as much confidence as I could since we weren't given much time to prepare. I ended up getting the main solo and I was so proud of myself. I knew that I could look back on junior year and see how much I changed and grew because of what I went through. I was able to perform with my heart on my sleeve during the performances and I knew it was something I truly wanted to do.