For the past four years, my life has revolved around music. Upon entering high school, I was just rediscovering my love for singing after going silent during the COVID-19 era. Being excited to use my voice again filled me with a fuel that has not yet burnt out, and I don’t think that it ever will. I started freshman year in my high school’s intermediate treble voice choirs. Though I had meant to leave the leadership positions to the upperclassmen, my director asked me to take on the role of section leader. I accepted. I was placed in a position of leadership right off the bat, over people years older and more experienced than me. The pressure to prove myself forced me to take it seriously and win the trust of my director, and I have been section leader each year since. I quickly moved to Entertainers, which is an advanced 11-member vocal jazz choir. This genre of music has exposed me to incredible new musical techniques, genres, and experiences. The responsibility of being a leader in such a small ensemble and singing such advanced music, is something I adore and can’t live without. I intend to audition for vocal jazz ensembles in my college years as well. I also participate in the Irvine Unified School District Honor Choir concert at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall each year. Along with choir, I have taken part in every musical theatre production my high school has put on. I have absolutely fallen in love with this art form and its ability to meld together different forms of creativity. I have been lucky enough to play leading roles in the musicals I have done, from Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz to Cinderella in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Even through hours and hours or rehearsals and each new challenge, I love musical theatre. So much, in fact, that I have signed up to do it for the rest of my life by pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre at university. I have also had the opportunity to create and perform original music. My close friend, a very talented musician, asked me a couple of years ago if I would be a feature on an original song in his band’s debut album. Of course, I jumped at this chance. Together, we wrote a song called ‘Run Rabbit Run’, about the pressures of anxiety and paranoia. We recorded it in a professional studio, and it is now out on streaming platforms everywhere. With his band, I have had the opportunity to perform at many local live music venues, including Chain Reaction and the House of Blues Anaheim. These performances have allowed me a glimpse into the life of a professional musician. I am now writing a musical in school with a group of eight others under the direction of a talented musical theatre composer. This experience has unlocked yet another passion in me, and I am excited to put our original songs onstage, record them, and share them with others. I have loved the feeling of creating original musical theatre so much that I am dedicated to continuing the practice in college. The variety of musical experiences I have had in high school have won my heart beyond what I could have imagined. I feel as if loving music makes me a better person every day. I have an immense sense of gratitude for all the opportunities I have had so far, and am beyond excited to continue both appreciating others’ music and creating my own to share with the world.

Ironically, the show that made me fall in love with theatre was pretty terrible. From an outside perspective, I’m sure it looked like something I should have been eager to walk away from. Instead, however, what went on beyond behind the scenes captured my heart forever. I joined my school’s drama class on a whim, after the pandemic had forced me to give up on the performing arts. I walked in completely unknown and unprepared for the task at hand: to produce the musical Mary Poppins Jr.. Our teacher had always wanted to teach orchestra, not drama or choir. Because of this, the responsibility for the show fell into the hands of a few of the most committed students in the class– me included. For no reason other than a love of the art, we took the entire production on, from costumes to set design. In the end, our show ended up student choreographed, blocked, designed, and directed. It was not a sight for sore eyes from the audience’s perspective, but to us, it was everything. It was the origin story for the greatest friendships of my life, and for my dream to study performance in college. From that moment on, I understood that the thing that made our show great wasn’t the set, or the costumes, or even the singing– it was the team. Working together with a group of people to create something wasn’t something I had ever experienced before, and I couldn’t get enough. From that point on, I have spent every day chasing after that feeling. I have worked onstage and offstage on every production and concert at my high school and joined leadership committees and clubs to help foster community for kids like me, who were just looking for a place to belong. My experience in the field of music has been similar. Recently, my friend asked me to collaborate on a song for his band’s first album. I have always been afraid to show others my original lyrics, afraid they weren’t good enough. However, having the chance to share my ideas with him and watch our song come to life taught me to have faith in my teammates, and to trust that they have faith in me, too. The song we wrote together is no masterpiece, but it’s given me the opportunity to perform in concert venues, witness the life of a professional musician, and be a part of a band. Yet again, I learned that creating art with someone isn’t about trying to make a masterpiece, but instead to learn from each other’s ideas, inspirations, and techniques. I have come a long way from the person I was before the performing arts. I used to shy away from sharing my ideas, resist hearing from others, and hesitated to join projects I wasn’t sure would be ‘good’. Now, I jump at the chance to create anything and everything with anyone I can. The network of fellow artists and musicians I have found is the most incredible support system I could ask for. I have now written plays with friends, directed productions, put together choral arrangements for me to perform with others, and am even currently writing a musical with a team of 8 others. Performance is perhaps the least solitary art form in existence. The reality of the industry and the community makes it clear that it is a place of collaboration, cooperation, and belonging. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t be going to college to pursue musical theatre, or dedicating the rest of my life to the arts.