Dogs have the reputation of being a man, or a woman's best friend. Well, Reese is my best friend. Reese is a beautiful Chesapeake Bay Retriever mixed with a Labrador Retriever. She has big green eyes, floppy ears, and a gorgeous wavy, brown coat. However, before Reese was my best friend, it was Ruff Ruff. Ruff Ruff was a stuffed dog that every 4-year-old would've loved to have. I loved Ruff Ruff so much that I would treat him as if he were a real dog. I would take him outside with me to play, he would sit with me when I watched TV and sleep with me at night, and I would even set out two bowls for him at dinner time; one for water, and one for food. I grew up with Ruff Ruff, and he grew up with me too. As a toy, he had to get washed every once in a while so his fur became fuzzy and dull, and his eyes started to lose the paint from them. But I could never bring myself to get rid of him, even after I got Reese, and to this day, I still have him. My parents and I adopted Reese in 2016 from Tails Human Society in Dekalb, Illinois. She was 5 months old when we got her and the only home she knew was an animal shelter. I raised her as if she were my child because I was so grateful to be able to adopt her. She has been with me for all of high school and my freshman year of college. Behind every one of my successes and wins, it is my dog that is pushing me to keep going. Her endless love and loyalty reminds me that I can keep fighting for my goals and bettering myself. She is the reason that I am still here today. My senior year of high school was my hardest year. COVID-19 was still infecting schools and families, and everything was pushed online. I was missing out on every senior year event that I was looking forward to for years. I was discouraged, depressed, and burnt out, so much that I believed the only way to feel better, was to end my life. I felt this way for months. It continued to get worse as school progressed and the pandemic worsened. The night that I tried to end things was difficult for me. I was so set on following through with my plan. However, it was Reese who changed that for me. In that moment, I looked at Reese as she laid on her side of my queen-sized bed, and I cried. I cried because I could see in her eyes that she knew what I was going to do, and it was as if she begged me to not leave her. Reese saved my life because of her existence and her loyalty. I believe that my love of dogs is because I learned to love and care for Ruff Ruff at 4 years old. I learned to care for Reese, who saved me and reminded me of how important I am to the world.

My love for acting began when I was ten years old. My best friend and I would memorize scenes from TV shows and perform them for our parents. At such a young age I didn’t know if this passion could turn into a career, but I continued to learn about acting the only way I knew how; through Movies and Television. I knew that I wanted to be an actor, but I had no idea how to get there. It wasn't until my freshman year of high school that I discovered theatre. This type of acting was entirely different from the TV show scripts with which I spent my time. My love for live theatre grew and eventually, I began expressing my love for acting as a career to my acting teacher, Ms. Ellis. I met Ms. Ellis during my sophomore year of high school. I had the privilege of learning from her as an acting teacher and director for three years. Every day I spent with her in class or rehearsal, I would learn something new about myself and theatre. Ms. Ellis’ dedication and support to her students were not only shown in the classroom but on the stage. In the classroom, we consistently worked on our acting skills through monologues, scenes, and mock auditions. This not only helped me as an actor in our school plays, but it encouraged me to work towards my goal of becoming a professional actor. During my senior year, I was discouraged and faced many hardships because of COVID-19, which led me to stray away from acting professionally. I began to doubt myself as an actor and listen to the non-supportive people in my life telling me that acting isn’t a career. I began to give up my dream. When I told Ms. Ellis this, she not only supported me in turning away from acting, but she also gave me advice, that could help me fight for my dream. She told me that not everyone has the opportunity to go to college for their dream career, but I do, so I should take the chance and pursue it. After that, she spent days helping me prepare for my audition for Northern Illinois University's Bachelors of Fine Arts Acting Program. Ms. Ellis spent so much time helping me perfect my monologues and create an Acting Resume. This resume consisted of almost every show she cast me in. She shaped me into the actress I am today. And it is because of her, that I am currently pursuing acting at the college level at Northern Illinois University. Attending Northern Illinois University for Acting has been the best decision I have made. I have met the most amazing theatre kids, whom I spend every day with, supportive professors, and a safe environment to create art. Through NIU, I have created beautiful memories with these people. My absolute favorite experience in theatre has been at NIU. It was the third week of the first semester. My ensemble and I are all still getting comfortable with each other and learning about one another. As first years in the BFA Acting program, we are required to perform small scenes together to the entire School of Theatre and Dance. While this was terrifying and nerve racking, it was also one of the most beautiful experiences ever. As soon as we all got on stage and performed and created theatre together, I could feel the acceptance and joy in the crowd. I felt welcomed by everyone and I knew that this was the place for me .

The best way to stay optimistic when facing hardships is to remind yourself that these events are happening for a reason and that they will not last forever. Whether that reason is character development, teaching a lesson, or learning to be independent, hardships have helped me more times than not. I grew up with a mom who was always the "glass half full", type of person. When anything upsetting or bad happened, she would always try to look on the bright side. She would tell me, "everything happens for a reason". Now, as a young adult in college, I spend most of my time away from my mom and her optimistic thoughts. However, they still live within me, and I believe that everything does happen for a reason. Believing in this saying has taught me how to be a calm person. I know how to control my anger and my emotions in a way that is healthy. Reminding myself that my struggles will not define me, and will not overtake me, help me to push myself to get through them.

As Sanford Meisner once said, "acting is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances". This quote lives in my brain anytime I am performing, rehearsing, or learning. It reminds me of what I want, and who I want to become. I know that I want to spend the rest of my life acting and being on stage. My dream is to become a professional actor and make a career out of it. As an acting major in college, I am working towards making my dream a reality. In this dream life of mine, I will be living in a beautiful apartment in Chicago with big windows and lots of plants that sit on those windows. I will have graduated from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Acting, and I will get to use my degree everyday. I will spend my mornings working in a costume shop, fixing clothes and sewing to my hearts desire. In the evening, I will be on stage, performing in a theatre in downtown Chicago. My dream life consists of me being a successful actor who loves their job and wakes up everyday excited to go to work.

The arts, specifically theatre, are my passion. My love for acting began when I was in middle school. I would take scripts from TV shows and memorize them with my best friend. We would perform scenes in front of our parents for fun. However, it wasn’t until my freshman year in high school that I truly experienced live theatre. The first play I was in was when I was 14 years old. It was about bullying, and I got the lead role as a bully. This character was the complete opposite of me, but it was through this performance that I grew as an actor and I learned how to perform under new and different circumstances. I knew that I wanted to turn acting into a career by the end of my freshman year, and I worked towards that goal all throughout high school. My ultimate goal is to perform in live theatre as well as film. I love both industries and I do not want to limit myself to only one. The video and images I chose to represent me as an artist are of performances that truly shaped me as an actress. The video is of me performing for the 2021 Poetry Out Loud Competition, during my senior year which was in the midst of the pandemic. This was the only performance I did that year due to COVID-19. This performance helped convince me to pursue acting in college. It reminded me of my love for acting, whether it is through plays or poetry. In addition to this, the photos I chose are of me performing in Annie the Musical during my sophomore year. This was the first musical that I had the honor and privilege to perform in and I will always be grateful for the experience.

Growing up, I spent my summer days at my grandparents’ house. My grandma had a craft room that was filled with art supplies that any artist or young child would dream of using. We would spend the day painting to our heart’s content. I loved to sit in her craft room with our canvases and paint for the whole morning, only taking a break to change the brown water in our cups. My grandma and I were opposites when it came to how we painted. She loved watercolor paintings and I loved acrylic paintings. However, it was what she painted that I grew to love throughout the years. Every time we painted, my grandma would paint Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies”. Each painting was a variation from her original Monet-style painting. She would experiment with different colors of paint, change the shapes of the lilies, and switch from watercolor to acrylic to match Monet’s style. I looked forward to seeing my grandma paint these water lilies every time because I knew that she wanted to see how much it could improve from the first time. Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” is my favorite piece of art. It reminds me of the summer days I spent with my grandma painting and how it influenced me as an artist today. It was through my grandma that I gained a passion for art and learned to appreciate the beauty behind every painting. Monet painted his water lilies 250 times, and each time they came out different, but just as beautiful as the first. My grandma continues to paint the water lilies and it reminds me to continue improving my skills. There is always room for improvement and as an artist myself, I know that I can only improve from here if I keep trying.