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Vanya Nanayakkara

1,625

Bold Points

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Finalist

Bio

My name is Vanya Nanayakkara. I am a high school student that aspires to be an author in the future. I have been working hard on my grades, and creative passions, and as of currently I have an above average report card, and had a story be published through an anthology book, and a poem published online. I hope to go to Sam Houston University, so that I can pursue my creative degree.

Education

Ridge Point High School

High School
2021 - 2025

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Bachelor's degree program

  • Majors of interest:

    • Film/Video and Photographic Arts
    • Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management
    • Fine and Studio Arts
    • Visual and Performing Arts, General
    • Visual and Performing Arts, Other
    • Radio, Television, and Digital Communication
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Writing and Editing

    • Dream career goals:

      Author

    • Barista

      Blackwater Coffee
      2023 – 2023

    Sports

    Soccer

    Club
    2014 – 20173 years

    Research

    • Criminology

      American Society of Criminology — Assistant
      2022 – 2022

    Arts

    • ACF Art Club

      Drawing
      2016 – 2024

    Public services

    • Advocacy

      ACUL — Donater
      2023 – Present
    • Volunteering

      GSA club — advocater
      2020 – Present

    Future Interests

    Advocacy

    Volunteering

    Entrepreneurship

    Dennis A. Hall Memorial Scholarship for the Creative Arts
    Ever since I was young I had always had an interest. First I learned how to draw, because I was mainly inspired by a crossover Idea I had between my favorite childhood franchises at the time(Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(TMNT) and Five Nights At Freddy's (FNAF) at the time), and I felt compelled enough to draw some of my imagination down in case I forget it. In turn it led me to a rabbit hole that drove me through my destined career as it was. I never found myself being interested in science, math, nor PE to make it into a stable career of mine. But something about Art was so easy and simple to understand. Besides, once a drawing is done, you’d often take one look at it and feel proud of it. The first thoughts that often come into mine is: ‘Did I make this? Yeah I did. I did make that by myself. And It looks good.’ And because of thoughts like this, I decided I should keep on drawing. And I did, because once you feel proud about what you create, you're likely going to create more, just to see what you come up with. And when you’re finished you take back and feel a sense of pride in yourself. Not because of the quality of the work, but it's because it's something you made with your own bare hands. That is the most important thing about art, it was never about the quality. Ever since I discovered that feeling of pride, I continued to chase it for the next coming years. Over time that sense of pridefulness somehow converted itself into passion, the feeling of intense emotion(In this case pride), which was discovered when I found myself searching for tips on Google on how to improve my drawing skills. Overtime, I got better at drawing thanks to the online tips, and ended up having my skills constantly improving. Having learned every new shortcut to improve on my drawings. Along the way, I learned some other skills that helped expand my creativity. Such as writing, and editing. That passion and skill has helped me express things that I can't see myself expressing in public as well, from underlying intense anger, to fleeting wonders of imagination and daydreaming, to existential questions I faced daily, to wacky humor I find funny. Art has helped me discovered a sides of me that I have never knew had existed at all, when I was very young. Now as I grew older, and wiser I had continuously researched the art industry in order for a job search, and considered the many jobs at play. Now that I am an adult I can confidently say that By the time I get to college, I will confidently pursue a bachelors degree in Media Productions. And once I do, I will be partaking in producing many media that will be soon televised. With my main intention being a producer being to help others accomplish their goals, and dreams of having their vision come to life. While I’ll still partake in writing, and drawing on the sidelines creating my own media in hopes of having it to share it with the world for the first time. With the money I earned from the sidelines I can be quite confident in myself, that in whatever I will create in the future. I can confidently succeed in doing so.
    Ryan Stripling “Words Create Worlds” Scholarship for Young Writers
    Writing is not a mere hobby you pick up when you're bored. It is a passion for artists across the world. A passion where you allow yourself to be free, and create worlds beyond the human imagination. You can preach in a poetic song, create beings that can be anyone's friend or enemy, and touch the hearts of millions no matter how different one is. Writing to me has been an expression that I have managed to harness properly. Once upon a time, when I was in 8th grade, I was nothing but a mere idiot writer, who sloppily smashed words together finding some kind of meaning. I wrote sentences that don't mean nothing, created non-existent worlds, and created characters of nothing. Yet In the end I was having joy, the joy that an award-winning nobel prize author must've felt when unknowingly writing their masterpiece. It didn't matter how poor I was when it came to crafting, a whimsy joy must be felt first in order to become a true writer. Once upon a time I took writing as a hobby, meant to try something new, and find other creative endeavors to create the world in my head. Once I had finished, when I proudly raised my sloppy work to the sun, and showed it around to my parents, they acted like it was the best classic they had seen, and my younger self was instantly filled with that encouragement. I was inspired to make more stories. Through my freshman and sophomore years, I happily created story after story, and happily planned to create more. As I grew I learned more techniques that enhanced my art, and created better stories that surpassed the previous ones. Yet it is still an art where imagination was a gift, and so as I grew I fell in love with the written worlds I created. And I always wanted to continue to expand the imagination of my art to the people around it. By the time I got to my junior year, I started to share my written world to the people around. My works are sometimes ignored by the people on my blog, and sometimes declined by the higher ups I chose to see my work. It’s a sign I may not be a good writer as I initially perceived, but on rare occasions when my work is accepted to be included into a novel or accepted into a website. It's a sign, keep writing to become a better writer. In my senior year, I took my first creative writing course, and since then I have learned how to write genres I haven't written, in new ways. I discovered strategies that helped me think in new forms, and experienced challenges that forced me to adapt my story. Yet in the end I found each experience a noteworthy lesson on improvement, and a saying to keep going. For college, is where my skills would be tested to the limit. My plan is that I would take the creative writing course for me to challenge, and for me to learn more about the written journey I set on. As I learn in college, I’d find ways for publication. Through readings to magazines publications to online web pages is where I shall grow my identity as a writer. I’d have a job too, to keep myself alive. But the most important thing is to keep my joy of writing alive. By the time I graduate, I will find a job in the industry as a writer, and nothing else.
    Vanya Nanayakkara Student Profile | Bold.org