A child's youth is the best time for them to discover what they like. They have the ability to explore any and every avenue they could want. As children, we have fewer responsibilities leaving more time to find our thing. As a child, I did soccer, softball, and dance. However, as I grew older soccer fell out of my life more than softball. I was heartbroken to lose two things I loved very deeply. But I decided I needed to stop doing those things because I wanted to fully commit to my artistry. I knew that if I did both dance and softball I would risk being mediocre at both instead of excelling at one. Since that decision dance has been my thing! Dance is my escape when I'm frustrated, my indulgence when I'm joyous, and my creative outlet.

           While focusing on creativity I have discovered a love for other genres of art such as painting. I have taken art all 4 years of high school and every year my dedication to it and passion for it has grown. I began to think more and more about each piece being able to paint about issues I saw in the world or within my day-to-day life. I now am able to connect my art to my emotions and put how I'm feeling directly onto canvas. These past four years I have realized I want art and dance to be a part of my life forever.

            This year I took AP art. This class takes a deeper dive into art. No longer focusing on the principles or elements of art but taking into account real-world issues and making every art piece count. We have to come up with an inquiry question that will shape what our work is about for the year. I think this is a perfect practice of what art in the real world is like. As an artist, I go through phases. I may make art about a certain topic for months and months and that may inspire different avenues I take. This year my inquiry is on the topic of anxiety and overwhelm. I wanted to explore different levels of anxiety and how they can manifest either intense or subtle. The very first piece I did was a woman drowning with her head detached and trying desperately to hold her head above the water. Or at least that's the feeling I wanted to convey. This piece shows perseverance through overwhelm. Holding only what is vital out of the water represents how oftentimes, when we are overwhelmed we focus on what is vital. I was very happy with how this piece came out.

         While painting it I dealt with multiple obstacles that I had to overcome. First while sketching my paper was not large enough so I had to tape different pieces of paper together to get the results I wanted. Then I transferred the sketch onto watercolor paper. I painted the whole thing and then realized the proportions were off. I asked Ms. Thompson, my art teacher, what she thought I should do. Since I was using watercolor it wasn't hard to erase what I had done and correct the proportions. She suggested I take a brush with only water on it and gently brush over the area I needed to correct. I did and researched the arm. I repainted it and It ended up turning out better than before. After I thought all the revisions were complete on the painting the person sitting across from me spilled water all over it. Luckily they are my friends so I wasn't mad. It spilled all over the sky of my painting and it created a swirling effect. Instead of getting frustrated and starting over, I went along with the swirling effect the water created. I really like the way the sky turned out and I'm honestly glad it happened.

        Because this painting was so intense and surreal, the next painting I wanted to show the reality of anxiety and how it can manifest subtly. I painted a girl sitting in a classroom writing a to-do list that goes all the way to the floor. I don't know about everybody but I am a procrastinator. When I get overwhelmed with all the things I haven't done, I write a to-do list to make myself feel productive. Then I end up stressing out more because I go home and instead of crossing off things on my list I end up adding more because I continue to procrastinate. This is how I distract myself. 

          I want to continue creating art that I think people will relate to and that I relate to. Creating pieces about real-world problems and adapting to the ever-changing world that I live in is my ongoing goal. While I love making art with deep meaning sometimes a girl's just gotta have fun. If we are constantly trying to find a meaning sometimes art loses its power. I have to remind myself of that constantly. Sometimes you just need to play to keep art alive.

             Every summer my dance studio hosts summer intensives. We have guest teachers who come from all around the world. Every year Sharon Skepple Mayfield comes from Augusta Georgia. She is an award-winning dancer who was a part of Garth Fegan's dance company located in Rochester New York for many years. She challenges us with her technique constantly. This last summer we did something new. Along with the Guest teachers, we had a guest videographer. I know him as Peter, and I have worked with him many times on projects with my dance teacher Angela Chambers. Last summer we did a film project as a part of our contemporary intensive. We had a three-step process first planning, then choreographing and collaborating, then filming. At first, we were on our own planning the emotion we wanted to convey through our film. Then we shared our ideas with the group and were placed with people based on if our plans matched. My initial plan matched up with my friends Star, and Sophies. Once we were placed in our group we discussed our vision for the film. We talked about transitions, choreography, camera angles, duets, solos, etc. Once we decided on our final plan we began to choreograph. Collaborating with two other dancers can be tricky sometimes especially when someone is afraid to share their ideas or if someone is constantly sharing and not giving others space to talk. Luckily Sophie, Star, and I have collaborated before. We know how to be respectful and get work done.

        We had a couple of days to choreograph and decided to dance to Bohemian Rhapsody. The dance sort of split into sections to make it equal. Everyone should have a special moment. In the first section, the camera starts zooming in on my face. That is my special moment. Then in the next section, Sophie has a solo while I and the star are dancing behind her. In the final section, Star and I have a duet, and then Star breaks away into a solo. Our dance teachers have always taught us about collaboration and the importance of working together. They would always ask us “What makes a good collaborator?” before we worked in groups. And now having had these experiences I'm proud to say I can use the skills I've gained in different aspects of my life.

               While I've had experience working with a group I have also had experience teaching. Going from collaborating to teaching is an interesting dynamic shift to figure out. I had to explore how I could be a good listener while also knowing when it was time to take charge and teach. This year I choreographed a dance for my company which was a challenge in itself teaching my pers and shifting from fellow student to teacher. I also volunteered on the SLV middle school play Alice @ Wonderland. This was a little more challenging to navigate because I was working with people who don't dance every other day.  They were also middle schoolers! They were hyper, goofing off constantly, and trying to be my friend all at the same time. I had to decide what type of teacher I wanted to be. Did I want to be quiet and stare at them while they goof off? Maybe throw in a thank you to those who behaved well. Did I want to be silly with them and then start teaching them to force them to pay attention? The thing is I didn't know what teacher I wanted to be. So every day I tried a new technique which was hard. We were under a time constraint so every rehearsal mattered. While I also had my own commitments such as work and dance we had to navigate around. Soon enough the time came to practice full run-throughs. Ms. McMillan asked me to take notes while watching the play with corrections that needed to be made. I not only helped with choreography but also gave tips on singing, pronunciation, and projecting.  This was a great experience for me to have and Im glad I was able to help while doing it. 

          I plan to go to Cabrillo College for two years. There I will participate in dance classes maintaining the training I have gained throughout my dance experience so far. Hopefully further growing as an artist. I have also learned I'm interested in the human mind and body. Dance has been able to show me different avenues of life. I have dealt with injuries from dance and had to learn how to recover. I have learned about anatomy as well as different ways to help heal the injury by going to physical therapy, acupuncture, and talking to bodywork experts. Taking classes at Cabrillo that could help me pursue a career in physical therapy, training, etc. 

         While attending Cabrillo I plan to work. Saving money to travel and take dance intensives around the world, being able to learn from as many artists as I can. After Cabrillo, I plan to transfer to a UC or an arts college such as CalArts or somewhere in New York. I also believe that I don't need to attend a prestigious college in order to be successful. Whatever school I do end up attending after Cabrillo I will partake in the dance program there. From that point, I plan to let life take me on whatever avenue its plans for me next. Or doesn't have planned.