From a kid in theatre to a career as a leader by Starienne

From a kid in theatre to a career as a leader by Starienne - February 2024 Scholarship Essay

It’s safe to say that butter is a general crowd pleaser, a food enhancer. Anyone could eat bread without butter, but it adds to the experience. As a child, I was butter. Any room I was in was bread. You could sit in the room and exist, but then came me, the butter, making sure to enhance your experience. I could entertain for hours and talk for even longer. I was young, people ate me up. Everyone enjoyed my presence. It felt nice to be butter.

Butter is not only an enhancement but an essential ingredient in most baked goods. Elementary school was cupcakes. It was the place where I had to combine with other ingredients. I was the butter. My peers were sugar, eggs, salt, etc. All new personalities from various places. A new recipe in which I could be useful.

A cupcake recipe calls for about a half stick of butter, which at that point was all my churner of development had. You'd think that would be the perfect amount for cupcakes, but during this mixing phase, something was not right. I was tall, built larger than my peers, played hockey, loved performing and making new friends. I desperately wanted to be friends with the other girls, but instead, was teased for being chubby and playing a 'boy sport'. I wish I’d had the ability back then to understand that I was just not in the right recipe. Seriously, who was going to tell me that these were going to be dairy free cupcakes?

Thankfully, this half stick of butter had the opportunity to find a different cupcake recipe, the freshly created drama club in third grade. Finally, an opportunity to be myself and perform. I didn’t have to worry about what people thought of me because I was in drama club, recognized and celebrated for my art. Instead of being perceived as a fattening ingredient, I was appreciated for the richness and structure I provided. The experience of working on plays throughout elementary school led to a performing arts middle school acceptance, sparking the realization that if I was doing what I loved, it would not go unappreciated. Acceptance by my community for my creativity and passion inspired me. The butter was starting to mix well.

High school was a big ole cake. The recipe for a cake calls for the same ingredients as cupcakes, but with larger quantities of each. I was now a full stick of butter in a place where the recipe called precisely for me. The development I’d experienced to that point taught me that we're not all we can offer until we expand our environments. I learned that we can't expect to be called for in every recipe, but that there's always a recipe that can use us. Being able to practice theater throughout high school, along with playing sports and volunteering allowed me to expand my interests and develop relationships with all kinds of new people. In the cake of a performing arts high school, I was able to be myself – more so than I'd ever been. Performing turned into leading creative teams and managing. My natural leadership qualities led to positions including Props Manager, Assistant Stage Manager and House Manager. It was these experiences that allowed this stick of butter to become the delicious final product because in these roles, I found my calling.

Reflecting on my journey, I’m grateful for the opportunities that led me to find my purpose in the cake of society, and for the skills I developed along the way including determination, leadership and an intense sense of community. I look forward to my upcoming college journey and my career in Management, where I’ll have the opportunity to combine countless ingredients into beautiful creations for the world to enjoy. I can’t imagine anything more exciting.