Monday, August 31, 2009
College Essay
The topic was your own choice, the only requirement was at least 250 words.
Family is defined as a group of persons related by blood or marriage. Most people would take this definition literally, but I see that it has multiple meanings. Yes, your family is the family you are born into, but it can also be created. Theatre, for me, is my created family. I have put my blood into every production, sacrificing hours of sleep and free time for play rehearsals and outfit fittings. I have married all my fellow thespians through all the hours we have spent together and all the memories we share. Theatre, and the stage arts in general, have always been a part of my life, and a part of my history.
I got my first taste of the stage when I was three years old and enrolled in dance lessons. Home videos prove that I was meant to be there, showing me center stage and unafraid to be the leader of the group. You can even see the other girls watching me to see what steps to do. As I grew up, the steps got harder, but the situation stayed the same, except girls learned how to hide their unknowing eyes from the audience. I was placed front and center many times not because I was the most talented or the most flexible, but because I was the one who could remember every step. Dance was my first stage arts family, the people who helped form my love of the visual arts. Every worker knew every student who knew every parent, and every time you walked into the studio felt like a family reunion. The group of girls you started classes with became your sisters, as you progressed together throughout different levels and dance styles. I took tap, jazz, and ballet for eleven years, so Center Stage Dance Academy truly did feel like a second home to me. When word got around that my family was moving from New Jersey to Florida in eighth grade, I was given special recognition at my final recital in front of hundreds of people, an honor usually awarded only to graduating high school seniors. Both my blood family and my dance family cheered and clapped for me, proving only again how close of a bond I had formed with people who had been complete strangers before we shared a common love of dance.
My next encounter with the stage came in middle school, where I joined the school choir. I had always sung around my house, but never had official voice lessons. Then in eighth grade I was chosen to be in the select choir, a special group of the best singers in school. We did Christmas concerts and sang to the elderly, and people finally recognized that I could sing. I did not have solos or special parts because I was not the most talented, but I was content with being part of a new family. This family however, was not like my dance family. There was always competition, and people tended to stick by their friends from their classes. However, I still met new people and gained new experiences from my tougher family. They taught me how to be independent, and showed me just how cruel people can be to get what they want. This may not have been an ideal family, or a type of family anyone would choose as their blood family, but they too helped me to grow, and taught me how to stand on my own two feet when no one else will support you.
Then we moved from New Jersey to Florida, and things started to change. I became more of my outgoing self, and joined the first of my many plays. In joining the plays, like before, I joined a family, only this one is more evident. You are instantly taken in by the upperclassmen, who become your big brothers and sisters. As you progress through high school, the new freshmen become your younger brothers and sisters. Our teacher Ms. Day is not only our director, but our mom. Some might believe she practices the ideal of tough love, but she will also help you when other activities cause problems with play rehearsals. We all watch out for each other, making sure no one is left out or feels unwanted. If someone’s falling behind in a class, we tutor them; if they need a ride to the end of production cast party, we drive them. You care for your theatre family as much as you care for your blood family, no questions asked.
By now it’s evident that I love the arts, and have formed many families in the different types of the arts. While dancing and singing will always be a special part of me, theatre is the one that has helped me grow the most. In dancing and singing it was, for the most part, the same people every year. Although you loved them to death, they did not challenge you in new ways like theatre does. Every new wave of freshmen exposes me to new opinions and viewpoints. I have grown in my confidence both onstage and offstage through all the new challenges. I’ve gained leadership skills from becoming one of the few seniors left, forcing me to take control during the times I would have otherwise backed down. Next year, I will pass the responsibilities to my younger brothers and sisters, and will hopefully join a new family at college. While I will not make theatre or the arts my whole life, I do hope to continue to show my love for the arts throughout my years at college. They have obviously helped me throughout my life.
While theatre has shown me new aspects of myself, it has also enhanced those I already possessed. I am still reliable little Kim, the student teachers know can rise up to the challenge. I remember every word, every song, every step, and every lesson that I am entrusted to remember. Ms. Day herself has even told me that I am “ a go-to student”, the one she can trust with almost any task, whether it be teaching new steps to absent cast members or controlling the lights during an after school event or meeting. Theatre and the stage arts have helped me grow into who I am today, and have helped me create amazing families along the way.
Family is defined as a group of persons related by blood or marriage. Most people would take this definition literally, but I see that it has multiple meanings. Yes, your family is the family you are born into, but it can also be created. Theatre, for me, is my created family. I have put my blood into every production, sacrificing hours of sleep and free time for play rehearsals and outfit fittings. I have married all my fellow thespians through all the hours we have spent together and all the memories we share. Theatre, and the stage arts in general, have always been a part of my life, and a part of my history.
I got my first taste of the stage when I was three years old and enrolled in dance lessons. Home videos prove that I was meant to be there, showing me center stage and unafraid to be the leader of the group. You can even see the other girls watching me to see what steps to do. As I grew up, the steps got harder, but the situation stayed the same, except girls learned how to hide their unknowing eyes from the audience. I was placed front and center many times not because I was the most talented or the most flexible, but because I was the one who could remember every step. Dance was my first stage arts family, the people who helped form my love of the visual arts. Every worker knew every student who knew every parent, and every time you walked into the studio felt like a family reunion. The group of girls you started classes with became your sisters, as you progressed together throughout different levels and dance styles. I took tap, jazz, and ballet for eleven years, so Center Stage Dance Academy truly did feel like a second home to me. When word got around that my family was moving from New Jersey to Florida in eighth grade, I was given special recognition at my final recital in front of hundreds of people, an honor usually awarded only to graduating high school seniors. Both my blood family and my dance family cheered and clapped for me, proving only again how close of a bond I had formed with people who had been complete strangers before we shared a common love of dance.
My next encounter with the stage came in middle school, where I joined the school choir. I had always sung around my house, but never had official voice lessons. Then in eighth grade I was chosen to be in the select choir, a special group of the best singers in school. We did Christmas concerts and sang to the elderly, and people finally recognized that I could sing. I did not have solos or special parts because I was not the most talented, but I was content with being part of a new family. This family however, was not like my dance family. There was always competition, and people tended to stick by their friends from their classes. However, I still met new people and gained new experiences from my tougher family. They taught me how to be independent, and showed me just how cruel people can be to get what they want. This may not have been an ideal family, or a type of family anyone would choose as their blood family, but they too helped me to grow, and taught me how to stand on my own two feet when no one else will support you.
Then we moved from New Jersey to Florida, and things started to change. I became more of my outgoing self, and joined the first of my many plays. In joining the plays, like before, I joined a family, only this one is more evident. You are instantly taken in by the upperclassmen, who become your big brothers and sisters. As you progress through high school, the new freshmen become your younger brothers and sisters. Our teacher Ms. Day is not only our director, but our mom. Some might believe she practices the ideal of tough love, but she will also help you when other activities cause problems with play rehearsals. We all watch out for each other, making sure no one is left out or feels unwanted. If someone’s falling behind in a class, we tutor them; if they need a ride to the end of production cast party, we drive them. You care for your theatre family as much as you care for your blood family, no questions asked.
By now it’s evident that I love the arts, and have formed many families in the different types of the arts. While dancing and singing will always be a special part of me, theatre is the one that has helped me grow the most. In dancing and singing it was, for the most part, the same people every year. Although you loved them to death, they did not challenge you in new ways like theatre does. Every new wave of freshmen exposes me to new opinions and viewpoints. I have grown in my confidence both onstage and offstage through all the new challenges. I’ve gained leadership skills from becoming one of the few seniors left, forcing me to take control during the times I would have otherwise backed down. Next year, I will pass the responsibilities to my younger brothers and sisters, and will hopefully join a new family at college. While I will not make theatre or the arts my whole life, I do hope to continue to show my love for the arts throughout my years at college. They have obviously helped me throughout my life.
While theatre has shown me new aspects of myself, it has also enhanced those I already possessed. I am still reliable little Kim, the student teachers know can rise up to the challenge. I remember every word, every song, every step, and every lesson that I am entrusted to remember. Ms. Day herself has even told me that I am “ a go-to student”, the one she can trust with almost any task, whether it be teaching new steps to absent cast members or controlling the lights during an after school event or meeting. Theatre and the stage arts have helped me grow into who I am today, and have helped me create amazing families along the way.
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