Growing up in Venezuela, music was a very constant and prevalent part of our culture. Ever since little, I was grateful I discovered a passion for music at such a young age. Everything about it, the complexity, emotion, but mostly the dedication behind it fascinated me. Not long after being able to walk and speak, my tiny fingers fell upon the keys of a piano, and that was just the beginning of everything. To my disadvantage, piano did not end up being my pursuit, although I wish it had been, it was not possible at the time due to financial circumstances (it is still a dream of mine to play consistently). The four strings of the violin were what opened my eyes to the wide yet beautiful world of music. During my beginner years, I stumbled upon a very interesting skill that I found out about at the age of 10, “perfect pitch”. Nowadays, perfect pitch is what drives my listening experience, whether it be classical, pop, rock, blues, or sole music. At the same age of 10, however, my family and I decided to seek new opportunities in a new country, a new community, a new culture, the U.S. Terrifying? Yes. Impossible? Never. Freshman year of high school and my attention completely shifted to something similar yet so different from classical music, musical theatre. It was incredible to see how all that I’ve ever liked and loved to watch blended into one. Although my career in musical theatre began quite a few years after my musical one, they both hold the same level of importance in my current life. I have been grateful and lucky enough to be part of shows that challenge me to use both of my skills combined, allowing me to build upon my experience that will help me along the journey I have chosen. Being part of the theatre community has taught me that through teamwork, storytelling becomes a breeze for the audience to enjoy. Through my 4 years of high school theatre, my favorite productions were not the ones that looked the most extravagant or expensive, but instead the ones that were genuine, authentic, and simple- evidently enough, these were also the ones that gained the most attention from the public too. Being able to study a character, learn about their background, given circumstances, and put your own version of that on a stage is simply incredible- even more incredible if accompanied by a violin. Studying musical theatre, however, is not as easy as it seems. In order to incorporate both things I love, I decided to shift my focus once again and major in Theatre Studies, aiming to achieve my Bachelors degree. As much as I would want everything to be perfect and simple, the decision to study what I was passionate about was not easy. It took years to convince myself and my parents that this is what would drive me through society, and that no matter what the financial outcome was, there would always be a way to do what I wanted. For years, they suggested careers like business, accounting, engineering, etc- careers that I knew I would not thrive in, because I would not be happy throughout the process. At the end of the day, I chose my passion over everything, knowing that with dedication, effort, but most importantly resilience, everything that I want for the future is possible.

“Undocumented”. Such a broad yet specific word. Used to describe people that do not “fully reside” or “fully have citizenship of”. I first heard that word when I was just turning 10, and I first moved to the United States. Growing up in Venezuela, that word had never crossed my mind, and I never would have thought that it would eventually describe me as a person. It is unbelievable how much a word or “status” can implement so much on what your life will be, and you do not know it yet. Being unable to get federal aid, not having the privilege to apply to many scholarships, or even finding yourself not able to be accepted into a university because all you’re missing is a card of green color. Within itself, the idea sounds bizarre. To me, to that 10 year old little girl, undocumented put me in a box, and I despised boxes. I hated being “classified” into a certain group of people. Little did I know though that I was not the only person in my close circle that was classified this way. As the years went by, I became more familiar with how to make myself known, which was the only way to acquire a scholarship. Being involved in so many school activities, overworking myself academically, taking and passing all Advanced Placement and AICE courses, all of it so that there could possibly be a chance of me going to college for free. My family, although hard working and resilient, did not have the sources or income available for me to attend college without help. I hated the idea of going to college being a burden for them, which is why I decided to double my resources and dig into the world of scholarships and financial opportunities. Scholarships made for undocumented students are not easy to find, and even harder to win. Within the community, students rely on such opportunities to keep themselves afloat, but always seeking for more, and that is the challenge. One scholarship is never enough, and it will never be enough for a full time college student. However, scholarship money not only would allow to pay for college tuition and living expenses, but it would also tell that 10 year old girl eight years ago to not worry, to keep trying, and to never give up on her dream. A box now doesn’t seem so bad, because through time, I learned we are all part of a box, a different one, but at the end of the day, a box.

Growing up in Venezuela, music was a very constant and prevalent part of our culture. Ever since little, I was grateful I discovered a passion for music at such a young age. Everything about it, the complexity, emotion, but mostly the dedication behind it fascinated me. Not long after being able to walk and speak, my tiny fingers fell upon the keys of a piano, and that was just the beginning of everything. To my disadvantage, piano did not end up being my pursuit, although I wish it had been, it was not possible at the time due to financial circumstances (it is still a dream of mine to play consistently). The four strings of the violin were what opened my eyes to the wide yet beautiful world of music. During my beginner years, I stumbled upon a very interesting skill that I found out about at the age of 10, “perfect pitch”. Nowadays, perfect pitch is what drives my listening experience, whether it be classical, pop, rock, blues, or sole music. At the same age of 10, however, my family and I decided to seek new opportunities in a new country, a new community, a new culture, the U.S. Terrifying? Yes. Impossible? Never. Freshman year of high school and my attention completely shifted to something similar yet so different from classical music, musical theatre. It was incredible to see how all that I’ve ever liked and loved to watch blended into one. Although my career in musical theatre began quite a few years after my musical one, they both hold the same level of importance in my current life. I have been grateful and lucky enough to be part of shows that challenge me to use both of my skills combined, allowing me to build upon my experience that will help me along the journey I have chosen. Being part of the theatre community has taught me that through teamwork, storytelling becomes a breeze for the audience to enjoy. Through my 4 years of high school theatre, my favorite productions were not the ones that looked the most extravagant or expensive, but instead the ones that were genuine, authentic, and simple- evidently enough, these were also the ones that gained the most attention from the public too. Being able to study a character, learn about their background, given circumstances, and put your own version of that on a stage is simply incredible- even more incredible if accompanied by a violin. Studying musical theatre, however, is not as easy as it seems. In order to incorporate both things I love, I decided to shift my focus once again and major in Theatre Studies, aiming to achieve my Bachelors degree. As much as I would want everything to be perfect and simple, the decision to study what I was passionate about was not easy. It took years to convince myself and my parents that this is what would drive me through society, and that no matter what the financial outcome was, there would always be a way to do what I wanted. For years, they suggested careers like business, accounting, engineering, etc- careers that I knew I would not thrive in, because I would not be happy throughout the process. At the end of the day, I chose my passion over everything, knowing that with dedication, effort, but most importantly resilience, everything that I want for the future is possible.