Coming into this school year I felt like I was drowning and would never find my way back to land. Here I was surrounded by probably some of the most talented and hardworking people I will ever have the pleasure of meeting. For a while I got a little lost in the crowd. I didn’t believe in my abilities and doubted that I would be good enough. Then I got into the New York Program and suddenly people knew who I was. From the moment I was accepted into the NYC Program I kept asking myself why. Why was I chosen? Why out of the dozens of crazy talented people who applied was I given this amazing experience? I found myself doubting my abilities again and just like that I felt like I was drowning. It wasn’t until I read the following quote by Maya Angelou that I really started to push myself to have more faith in my own talent.

“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.”  – Maya Angelou

Once I read this I had a moment of clarity. I realized it’s okay to be fearful and to feel like you’re drowning, however, don’t let that hold you back. In a school as talented as ours it’s easy to get lost and be forgotten. We have to fight everyday to prove to the world to listen to us because we matter and so does our work. It’s scary and more times than we’d like to admit we will fall and get lost, but don’t stay lost. When you feel yourself getting lost find something or someone to guide you out. Find a way to be inspired again and then take a risk. Do something that makes you uncomfortable and push yourself everyday. Without noticing it you’ll find that you are the guide for someone else and just like that you have come full circle.

Topacio Beerhalter           04.27.17