What is a legacy, if not the unbridled passion of an individual persevering? As an artistic college student pursuing her career in the performing arts, the deepest desire of my heart is to create a lasting legacy of joy and inspiration, not because of the magnitude or scope of my work, but because I was able to make people smile and remember that life has meaning and that being alive is beautiful. I want to build a legacy by pursuing my passions wholeheartedly; by not allowing myself to be held back by fear, anxiety, or the people who tell me that art is not a sustainable career and that I cannot support myself or a family by giving my all to the arts. I want to be a light and an inspiration to others so that they too can see that their love for art is not a fleeting dream, but that it is a beautiful reality that anyone can achieve if they work hard and indulge in their dreams and passions. I want to lead by example, to young people and older folk alike, showing the world that you can chase your dreams and succeed in life while doing so. The imagination should not die when a child enters high school. That beautiful mystery of the human mind should be cared for and nurtured by teachers and peers. It should be allowed to grow and breathe and spread its wings. The stunting of a child's creativity by the gloomy dark of the corporate world is a tragedy that should never be endured. Art is the food of the soul, and to deprive it of its sustenance is to kill it completely. Such a crime should never be committed. To combat this tragic death of the soul, I want to create a haven for the arts, a place that offers art lessons to children and adults alike; a place that hosts drama classes, paint nights, sewing days, and dance lessons under the light of the sun. I want to create not only a much-needed business that supports the education and development of future generations, but a place of light, solace, and creativity that the community around it can come to in times of darkness or pain. I want to create a place that can support the budding dreams of young creatives and renews the spirit of imagination and passion within the hearts of the generations that have come before them. I hope to bring to life a new love of the arts by offering a place for children to play with their passions, to learn how to draw, paint, act, dance, sew, and create in a place where they will never be told that their dreams are unachievable or that they will never make money by engaging in their love of art. I want to be a person that children can come up to with their new drawing and proudly tell me what it is and why they love it. I want to preserve and protect that joy for as long as I can, and hopefully give it back to the older folk who may have lost it or had it taken from them. In these ways, I want to create a business that gives back to the community, provides light, hope, and encouragement to the children coming after us and for those in my generation and older, and creates a new world full of dreams, imagination, and art for all people.

It used to be very dark in my life. Things were normal on the outside, but internally I felt like I was drowning. Drowning under the expectations I felt from society, life struggles and even from myself. School was slowly killing me. I felt no joy in the day to day routine. I didn't know how to take care of myself properly, and my mental health was at rock bottom. Then she came into my life. A punk-rock girl a little less than a year younger than me, with a half-buzzed head, a penchant for 80s rock, and a determination not to be steamrolled by other people, no matter what. Intelligent, artful, creative and kind, this girl brought me into a friend group I was too afraid to join online, offered me her friendship, and kickstarted the deepest and most genuine relationship I've ever had in my life. The one I'm most grateful for. The one that I will never ever let slip through my fingers. That first act of kindness-- that extending of her hand and welcoming me into a group of people I was too terrified to try and speak to on my own-- changed my entire life. From and through that kindness, she re-taught me what it really means to have a best friend. To have a person that you love with all of your being-- body, mind and soul-- and are wholly loved back by. Someone who cares so much for you that they'll call you when you feel sad or upset without hesitation, and who drops everything for you the second they hear your sobs. A person that spending time with comes so naturally that you could sit in utter silence with and you'd both feel like you're the luckiest and most-loved person on the face of the planet. A person that you can pour everything you are into and never feel drained. This girl taught me how to love myself again. How to see me as she sees me; pretty, smart and genuine. She taught me how to take care of myself. To take care of my needs and remember to drink water and shower. To take a break when I need it. She's taught me what unconditional love feels like. What it feels like to know in your heart that you are always taken care of and are always welcomed home. It's truly been life-changing, and before her, I would have never thought I could ever experience a love so deep or deserve a relationship so pure and genuine and caring. I'm handling today well because of her. I'm taking care of myself while I'm away at school because of her. She is my reason to keep going. To wake up in the mornings and get dressed. To make it to class on time. To remember how to take care of myself. I'm so grateful for her every single day of my life and for that very first act of love and kindness. She's changed my life completely. Thank you to my Lily. My girl.

My dream future self is a young woman who has pursued her dreams, become more confident in herself and her abilities, lives with her best friend and their cat, and uses her everyday life and her career to inspire the dreams and creativity of those around her through art, music, dance and theatre.

Acting has been a part of my life since I was very young. It allows me to express creativity, create fantasy out of reality, and bring people into a world that is supported by dreams, whimsy and beauty. In middle school, I was given the opportunity to begin acting in drama classes. The class was once a week at a small co-op, with a gaggle of high school students and a handful of middle schoolers. It wasn't the most extraordinary class. What made it truly stand out was my teacher, Mrs. Deborah Morgan. Mrs. Morgan introduced to me the beauty of acting. She made it into something I didn't have to just dream about, but something realistic and attainable in my life. With just a few semesters, she opened doors that I never thought could be opened for me. I learned that I was capable of spinning stories into reality and embracing a character, bringing them to life before the eyes of the audience. I learned that I could combine this skill with my gift of dance and enrich myself with another layer of beauty and art. I want to honor Mrs. Morgan's instruction and pursue this art form through voice acting primarily, but through the stage and film as well. I want to use the abilities I've been gifted with to make people smile and to bring to life the stories that they love with my voice and performance. I am pursuing this degree to give myself an even higher level of understanding in my chosen form of art to spread the contagious joy of acting and inspire others to find themselves within the performing arts.

As a student pursuing her degree in Theatre and Dance in the fall of this year, I am so grateful for the many opportunities I have been granted to continue learning and growing in my passions. I am deeply passionate about Theatre and Dance because it fulfills me and gives me a purpose and place on this earth, it allows me to share and make my art forms more accessible to people, and it gives me the privilege to witness people smile and laugh through performance. Dance fulfills the deepest desires of my heart to be creative and artistic. It gives me an outlet to express myself through movement, improv and music. Dance allows me to take a step out of my busy life and be myself, wholly and truly. It takes the edge off of the daily routine and reduces all stress, even when the most stressful of situations are occurring in my daily life. Similarly, Theatre is an outlet of self-expression where I am learning to become more comfortable with being myself by stepping out of my comfort zone, learning to be brave, and truly perfecting the craft that I've chosen to study. Theatre is so important to me. It fuels my passion to create and engage in art and creativity, and it affords me the ability to connect with others who love the performing arts as much as I do. When I was in middle school, my family was going through a very financially hard time after my father suddenly lost his job of over ten years. Dance was always a constant grace in my life. It gave me a place to escape from the stress of home and forget that life was hard for a couple of hours a week. It connected me with some of my lifelong friends and sisters that I can turn to when I need anything, from the smallest query about choreography to a much-needed piece of life advice. Dance gave me the freedom to explore art with renewed passion and re-introduced me to Theatre, fostering a new love for acting in my heart. It picked me up out of the hardest and darkest point in my life and offered me the solace of music and movement and gave me something to hold onto throughout the storm. Further, Dance and Theatre have given me the ability to make the arts more accessible to those around me and in my communities. With the knowledge and technique I have learned, I have been able to share the performing arts with young children and teens in many communities, homeschool programs, gymnastics centers, dance studios and camps in the north-eastern Ohio region. Because of this, I have been afforded the distinct privilege to spread joy in this world, spreading smiles and laughter in the current generations and many generations still to come. That is what I love most about Dance and Theatre. I love to see people being people and having fun with one another, whether they're observing the arts or performing them. With my degrees, I am looking to further my reach and spread this love of the performing arts even further. I want to use my gifts and passions to give people something to smile about, even when they are at their lowest, just as the arts provided for me in my darkest times.