Math is more present in the world than people tend to realize, and that includes art. There are music genres like mathematical rock, and there are artists who incorporate intense and intricate geometry in their work no matter the medium they use. As a senior at a performing arts high school, I've grown to see how math is present both in my arts and in the world. My math teachers always found ways to include math in art, and art in math. In my sophomore year, the final in my class was to graph a picture using Desmos and the parabolas equations we learned. During junior year pre-calculus, we incorporated the names and practices of different artists who both attend my school and are famous historical figures. In all my dance classes, we use math by counting the music and using those phrases to dictate our choreography. I think it's important to learn math because it opens up more creative possibilities. It's always good to think outside the box and create more abstract works that don't follow a pattern, but it's also fun to stay inside the box and see how you can use STEM subjects like math to make something that abstract works could never be. Math can make art more accessible because of how tangible the numbers and symbols are. Just like how the feelings art evokes is universal, mathematical equations and notations are universal too. Math wasn't ever something I absolutely loved, but I've grown to have more fun learning it. My brain tends to work more systematically instead of abstractly, and the euphoria I get when I can finally understand and apply a statistics concept is comparable to when I see a painting or dance that almost feels as if I was meant to see it. The connections I've made from math classes too are something I wouldn't trade either. I've formed close relationships with my teachers and some of my greatest friends from math class. Math is essential just like how you can't spell "earth" without "art." It may not be something I'm the best at, but it's a subject that I have fun learning and applying to both the real world and my world full of art.

I am the fuel for my life, and I create my own happiness. I crochet, both so I can learn how to make different things and experiment with patterns, but also so that I can give away my creations and see someone's eyes light up. I dance not only to stay in shape, but to watch the way my classmates move, and find myself in those same movements and see how the same combination differs from person to person, because it's fascinating and beautiful and everything and more. I go to museums to expose myself to different cultures and art techniques, to take pictures to show friends and tell them, "Let's go there together, and I'll show you my favorite pieces." I pick myself up out of bed everyday so that I can spend time with my loved ones and form new memories and deeper connections with them, because every little second is precious, and my love language has and always will be quality time. I jump right into the world and motivate myself to not only find happiness in whatever I lay my hands on, but to also be happy with myself, because if there is one person I will always have with me in life, it's me, and the world is brighter when I learn to see myself in the way that my loved ones see me.

Right now, I am a dancer. I take classes to hone my technique, I take workshops to expand my creativity, I perform to celebrate and share the work my friends and I have rehearsed. As I've grown, I realized that even if I don't want to dance anymore, I still want to stay in touch with the dance community I've been a part of since I was little. In the past two years, I've fostered my interest in psychology and kinesiology. At school, I've taken classes on kinesiology and I took AP Biology to learn more about how the body functions, and how those bodily functions apply to dancers. This year, I am also taking psychology in addition to a semester of dance kinesiology; so far I've learned about how the brain works and the anatomical names and purposes of different bones, muscles, tendons, etc. I want to take this knowledge and learn more about how it applies to dancers so that I can be a dance psychologist or dance physical therapist. Injuries, for instance, not only require physical care but also mental care. Not being able to dance for a period of time puts strain on a dancer, and easing back into the usual dance routine during the final recovery stages puts pressure on the dancer to do better. By becoming a medical expert for a dance company, whether that be for psychology or physical therapy, I want to promote healthier ways of recovery. Dancers are usually taught to suppress negative emotions and tough it out, but in this modern age, it's more beneficial in the long run to take the necessary steps to properly recover mentally and physically. I hope to be able to carry out this dream and promote a new era in dance that promotes wellbeing.

With a crochet hook and a skein of yarn, I become Monet with his paint brush, Taylor Swift with her guitar, Dr. Seuss with a pencil and paper. I am a magician, turning a ball of color into bags, hats, clothes just like that. I am a witch entwining the yarn with my heart, putting a piece of myself into everything my two hands make. Then I become Santa Claus, creating to give a gift to the community surrounding me. "Thank you, Mia," I am told, and Santa and Taylor Swift fade away to reveal it's been me, Mia all this time, and I do it all again.