Paper of a Lost Boy by emmarie

Paper of a Lost Boy by emmarie - July 2019 Scholarship Essay

“Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it.” (JM Barrie). The topic of my future is brought up in conversation, my leg begins to shake, my heart pounds, and the familiar feeling of time slipping past me takes over. As if it were an unavoidable punishment, I fear growing up. I will finish high school, so I can go to college, so I can get a job, so I can die. When we are young the world seems to be full of limitless knowledge and opportunity, but as we get older the gateway to unthinkable adventures slowly closes, and our passion for education dwindles. Since my glowing years of adolescence, there has only been one thing that truly makes me hopeful for the future, and that is theatre.
When I tell people I would like to pursue a career in Theatre I often get the, “But you’re so smart” response followed by a look of pity: pity for the disappointment they are sure I will soon face. When I was in ninth grade, I went to the Texas International Thespian Convention. One of the key speakers and performers was Mamie Parris, a successful Broadway actress. She sang “Defying Gravity,” a song I have listened to at least a million times, but it impacted me in a way I had never felt before. As I was watching her I felt a pull in my chest, a deep desire to be where she was. Maybe it was the way her voice resonated through the floor, maybe it was the electric air between the stage and my seat, or maybe I was just tired, but soon enough I started to cry. Big warm droplets slid down my smiling cheeks into my lap. Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder, pulled out of my trance I turn around to see my theatre director staring at me. His usual stern face had melted away and was replaced with a warm gaze. He said, “That’s going to be you one day”. As a freshman in a competitive program, I was over the moon for weeks, and his words have stayed with me since when I face rejection. If I close my eyes and allow myself to picture my wildest dreams, I see myself on that stage. Thus, I will gladly endure a lifetime of disappointment if it means the slightest chance of greatness.
Contrary to popular belief Theatre is not a form of expression but a vessel of understanding. Atticus Finch says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view [...] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 87). That is exactly what theatre is, it is getting the opportunity to take a character and give them life on the stage. The purpose of an actor is never to shine or to feel some form of self-righteousness but to become someone else entirely. Theatre is the thing that satisfies my endless hunt for knowledge. Theatre is my Neverland on earth: I would never have to grow up, and would never have to face the monotony of a normal life. Every show, every character, every line is a new world worth exploring. School’s preach about wanting students to be “Lifelong Learners”; I cannot think of a better profession to achieve this goal. I will continue to see the world as a child, chalked full of new knowledge to be absorbed, and when my journey does come to an end the characters, and the stories I have helped tell will live on forever.