The day my world slowed down is one I’ll never forget. My mom has always been my everything—no matter how much we argue or how hard she pushes me, she’s the reason I’m here. So when I found out she had cancer, it felt like time stopped. I was in 6th grade, and my mind was consumed with fear. “What if?” What if she couldn’t beat it? What if I lost the most important person in my life? The reality of it all hit even harder when she started to struggle with everyday things. Simple things, like waking me up for school, helping me with my homework, or making dinner, became impossible. She spent her days sleeping, too weak to do much else. Sometimes she couldn’t even get to the bathroom without help. The distance grew between us, not because we wanted it, but because cancer made it that way. I was terrified—not just of losing her, but of losing the connection we shared. I wanted to hug her, to be close to her, but radiation treatments often kept us apart. The nights were the worst. The nightmares came more often, and the fear of waking up to find her gone never left me. There were countless nights when I cried myself to sleep, overwhelmed by the thought that each day might be our last together. But when I started 7th grade, there was finally some hope. Slowly, my mom started getting better. The weight on my shoulders began to lift, and though the nightmares didn’t stop, I at least knew she had a fighting chance. Life started to pick up again, but the scars of that time remain. By the time COVID hit, she had beaten cancer, though she still deals with the side effects to this day. She tries to downplay it, probably for my sake, but I can hear it in her voice—the weight of those memories, the fear that never fully left. Five years later, I can still hear the emotion when she talks about going to see the doctors. I think she carries her own version of PTSD from it all, just like I do. This experience, and watching my mom’s incredible strength, has shaped me in ways I never expected. It taught me to live each day to the fullest and never let setbacks define my future. Instead, I use them to push me forward. It also taught me to treat everyone I meet with kindness, because you never really know what someone else might be going through. My mom showed me what true resilience looks like, and because of her, I carry that strength with me everyday.

My passion for the arts was ignited in the second grade with an end of school surprise to see the Lion King. I quietly sat on my knees in my second row seat completely mesmerized by the costumes, character & audience interaction and music that pulsed through my body and made me feel alive! In the fourth grade I finally had an opportunity to audition for a play and to my surprise I was casted as Jafar in Aladdin. The connection and strong bonds I was able to make with other students just like me and the teachers that directed the shows, which still exist till this very day, created a sense of community that I never knew I needed. In middle school, my community grew while performing in Once On This Island and Fiddler On The Roof. I became utterly infatuated with the idea of being able to channel all of my emotions and experiences into relatable performances! While fully immersed in the magic of the stage, Covid hits. Snuffing out the ignited flames, momentum halted where there had been so much life! The world came to a standstill and my fuel was replaced with uncertainty and skepticism. It felt like the very thing that gave me breath, that kept my spirits up, was taken away in a heartbeat. The world became a virtual oyster. It felt like I was losing myself, my spark. A piece of my soul was now missing. The absence left me with a constant longing to return to the place where I felt most at home, I desperately needed to feel whole again. I applied(virtually) to every performing arts high school I knew of….. being accepted to LaGuardia, my re-ignited fire became an unstoppable inferno! In high school i’ve begun to learn the true art of storytelling and how to bring those stories to life by playing such diverse roles such as Uncle Fester to The Wiz and Cinderella’s Prince. Every rehearsal, every performance provides me with an indescribable rush. Allowing people to see the world through a new lens, provoking thought and touching the heart of those who have watched me perform has my fire burning hotter than it ever has before. Theater has challenged me to step out of my comfort zone, take risks and place myself in someone else’s shoes. The moment I step onto a stage, everything else fades away. A high I just cant seem to get enough of! I cannot visualize myself anywhere else except on a stage performing! I am pursuing performing arts because this is where I find fulfillment! This is where I come alive!

My Drive A lot of people think of driving as what pushes you or motivates you. But I think about it as what started my engine and what keeps it from losing power. My drive comes from Musical theater. Not just watching it but performing and being on the stage. When i was in Fourth grade my parents surprised me with tickets to see Lion King on Broadway. I was the type of kid who talked through everything movies, tv shows, etc. but this was the first time i wasn't talking through something. It touched me in a way where i felt a sort of magical touch through watching it. I talked my mom to death about the show and every little thing in it! From that day on I knew my love for theater would just grow! I even auditioned for my school musical Aladdin in 5th grade. When we got our roles I had ran out to my mom so excited, I had gotten Jafar. I had never been in a musical but in my head it seemed self explanatory. You learn some lines, music, and staging and your good. But it was more than that. The adrenaline that came with doing every dance and singing the songs while doing them was so intriguing and i wanted more of it. I wanted to be pushed more. At this time i had only known of the lion king and Disney movie musicals but after this show my world was cracked open wide! My parents had taken me to see Aladdin on Broadway before I performed it in school. Yet again I did not shut up after the show! That day i knew i wanted to do what they did i wanted to be an actor. But i didn't know why. I knew i loved the big sets and the lights and the community you make when you do a show. But being a Black kid from the Bronx they essentially set me up to just do in school shows. But i was determined to make it and i used the people i knew to figure out how i can grow this love and keep my “engine” running. I was directed to the theater teachers in the middle school a block down which I attended the next year. I kept auditioning for the shows and i just grew more and more love for this business. Then Covid hit, we had just finished the two show run of Fiddler on the roof and it showed me that the reason why my engine was running was because i was always doing it. Now that i was locked down i felt the engine burning short. I was itching for something, anything to do to make that engine keep going. I had invested all my time and energy into this it can't just burn out, can it? I was struggling but then i had stumbled upon my videos from Aladdin, Once on this Island and Fiddler on the roof and watched them showed me that my drive wasn't from me doing it but me giving people a good time and giving them a chance to escape reality for a little bit and feel like they can do anything. With some help from friends and teachers i had got it back and right in time because i was at the point in my life where i had to choose a high school to go into. With a new meaning to why i act i took on virtual auditions. At first tech was not on our side. Certain things weren’t sending and websites fully crashed. But i stayed strong and didn't give up i was aimed for the Fame school LaGuardia high school. I didn't want to let me doubt get the best of me because i deserved to be there just like everyone else. From the time i submitted all my auditions to the time i got the results, i had been in some virtual community shows that didn't go so well on their end but i always knew my priorities and my goals. A few months later letters came back and my life had taken another big turn. My friends were confident none of us got in because it's a hard school to get into. But as my friend said that my mom called me and told me i got into LaGuardia. I dropped everything and freaked out. The little boy who saw Lion King all those years ago and the little boy playing Jafar had come out and it felt like a kid on Christmas. My hard work and my perseverance helped me drive down a long and bumpy road. Now i use my motivation to expand into not just acting but directing, singing, and writing. I even started writing a musical that I'm very proud of! I've been working on it since freshman year and I've even started writing two more in the process of writing the first one. Acting has brought me a long way and I'm so excited to see where my engine takes me next

My passion for the arts was ignited in the second grade with an end of school surprise to see the Lion King. I quietly sat on my knees in my second row seat completely mesmerized by the costumes, character & audience interaction and music that pulsed through my body and made me feel alive! In the fourth grade I finally had an opportunity to audition for a play and to my surprise I was casted as Jafar in Aladdin. The connection and strong bonds I was able to make with other students just like me and the teachers that directed the shows, which still exist till this very day, created a sense of community that I never knew I needed. In middle school, my community grew while performing in Once On This Island and Fiddler On The Roof. I became utterly infatuated with the idea of being able to channel all of my emotions and experiences into relatable performances! While fully immersed in the magic of the stage, Covid hits. Snuffing out the ignited flames, momentum halted where there had been so much life! The world came to a standstill and my fuel was replaced with uncertainty and skepticism. It felt like the very thing that gave me breath, that kept my spirits up, was taken away in a heartbeat. The world became a virtual oyster. It felt like I was losing myself, my spark. A piece of my soul was now missing. The absence left me with a constant longing to return to the place where I felt most at home, I desperately needed to feel whole again. I applied(virtually) to every performing arts high school I knew of….. being accepted to LaGuardia, my re-ignited fire became an unstoppable inferno! In high school i’ve begun to learn the true art of storytelling and how to bring those stories to life by playing such diverse roles such as Uncle Fester to The Wiz and Cinderella’s Prince. Every rehearsal, every performance provides me with an indescribable rush. Allowing people to see the world through a new lens, provoking thought and touching the heart of those who have watched me perform has my fire burning hotter than it ever has before. Theater has challenged me to step out of my comfort zone, take risks and place myself in someone else’s shoes. The moment I step onto a stage, everything else fades away. A high I just cant seem to get enough of! I cannot visualize myself anywhere else except on a stage performing!