Opening The Door to Theater by Connor

Opening The Door to Theater by Connor - January 2023 Scholarship Essay

As I am now entering the second half of my senior year of High School, I look back at my last four years. It seemed like yesterday that I was a freshman, full of mixed emotions on what I was about to experience throughout my high school journey. To begin with, adjusting to a large student population as several smaller grade schools are combined. Then the opportunity to select from several electives to go along with the core educational required classes. From cooking and automotive repair classes to computer programming and video editing, I was fortunate that my school had offered such a large variety of electives to accommodate student interests.

I chose to go through the route of computer and technology-related classes for my electives. To, not only was I interested in expanding my knowledge base, I felt it would be relevant to my future career goals. The classes I took, were beneficial and provided me with a solid foundation as a student navigating through the coursework over my next 4 years of high school.

However, there was one thing that I was lacking, I was horrified when given the task of speaking in front of my classmates. I recall my sophomore year; I worked hard on a United States History project. Unfortunately one of the requirements of the project was that I had to get to the front of the classroom to discuss my chosen topic for at least 5 minutes. Every excuse ran through my head as to how I can avoid this task without hurting my grade on the project. As the assignment’s due date drew near, I knew I had to try to get through it. I laugh about it now because it was horrible. I got up in front of the class, kept my head down, and read off the note cards which I prepared. My teacher provided me with positive feedback, I did take a hit on my presentation score but was happy to get through it. Several other classmates of mine struggled as well. The reality was we never had the opportunity to get in front of our classmates to speak, 99% of the time we are sitting at a desk listening to our teacher’s lessons.

In my Junior year I jumped way out of my comfort zone, I joined my High School Musical as a cast member. I worked hard on my parts and began to develop more confidence in speaking to the public. Then comes opening night, the auditorium was full of people. I was nervous, and terrified as I hit the stage then comes my part and I completely forget it. I am proud to say that I did well on opening night, the musical was a big success as we would go on to perform it 5 more times in front of a full audience.

The experience I gained from being a cast member in my school’s musical provided me with valuable life skills. I no longer have the fear to get up in front of a group of people, whether that is a room of ten or a theater with 300 people. I have more confidence in general, I find that I engage in conversation more, especially with strangers. I have been complimented by my teachers for being a positive influence on the classroom as I routinely engage the class in conversation, in fact, I am often leading the class in topics.

To think if I would not taken that step to enter the theater program, my school experience would be so different right now. I would have resorted to hiding in the back of the class and offering little or no opinion toward the topic at hand. I would also not have the confidence in myself that I have now. For this reason, I feel strongly that all students should be required to take Theater as an elective. It is important that we gain the ability to show who we are as individuals. This is something that does not come easy, very few have the gift. Most people hide who they really are, they don't engage people and communicate. A simple elective like theater will undoubtedly positively impact students across the county. For this reason, I have reached out to the underclassman urging them to open the door to the theater program and step in, as I know it will dramatically impact their high school experience and beyond.