The Bear has been an important show to me from the day it came out, and as a result, I think a lot about the potential ending. My true dream is for it to never end, because where will I be without Richie and Carmy’s arguing? It’s like music to my ears, honestly, but I do have an idea of my preference for where my favorite characters might end up. To begin, Carmy Berzatto, the main character, is someone I think about often. He’s abrasive and mean, yet loving and lovable, and in this latest season, he came to a head with his crumbling mental state. This recent season, he really got mean, lashing out at anyone who spoke to him, and more often than not, he was bright red and decorated in angry, pulsating veins. Where I would place Carmy at the end of the series, is none other than therapy. He definitely deserves it, given how he treats the other characters, from his family to Sydney. Carmy needs to get his emotions regulated and learn more healthy coping mechanisms. I think, as broken-hearted as it would make him, he’ll sell the restaurant, and perhaps he’ll move swiftly out of the cooking industry because it hurts him, despite his talents. Or perhaps, he’ll go back to Copenhagen and find a nice place to work that doesn’t make him want to rip his hair out. Next, for Sydney Adamu, I feel that she'll end up leaving The Bear. After the ending of the latest season, with her completely crumbling under the pressure that Carmy has forcibly placed upon her shoulders, I feel that she'll end up leaving. She might move into a work agreement that someone who finally treats her right and it'll give her a sense of stability. Those constant arguments and the ignoring of her fresh ideas will be no more with this new position, and I think that's exactly what she deserves. Sydney has been nothing but good, so in my eyes, she deserves good. Also, I do believe she would attend therapy. For Marcus, I feel that he'll end up going to Copenhagen too, keeping in touch with Carmy and becoming a famous baker while working alongside Luca. In season two, I loved their dynamic, and how quickly close they grew, and that's a type of relationship that I think he deserves. After embarrassing himself with Sydney and attempting to make a move, I think it would be really sweet if he moved somewhere that he'll be loved, and with Luca in Copenhagen, his restaurant was that place! I think Marcus will be one of the happiest outside The Bear, even though he's been there for so long. For Tina, I think that she might buy The Bear from Carmy. She's done nothing but sharpen her skills, really finding a talent in the restaurant business. Plus, she's very level-headed compared to season one, and I think that would make her so useful in the kitchen. For Richie and Fak, I feel like they'll be attached in the hip, even outside The Bear. I think they'll move in together, deciding to stick together no matter the career. Honestly, if Tina buys and owns The Bear, I feel that they'll stay there, especially with Carmy no longer owning it. Richie would go to therapy too, because he has a lot of things he needs to unpack, and Fak would support him every step of the way. While that's not everyone, I think that everyone would end up happy and content, even Carmy. That's my dream.

I can remember my first Spider-Man movie that I genuinely remembered. I was young, but old enough to actually hold this memory, and me, my mom and my dad were all stretched out on the couch together. We’ve always been professionals at relaxing, and this was certainly no different. I could remember my dad putting on the movie showing a new Spider-man, and for once, I found myself interested. That movie was Spiderman Homecoming, and for once, I saw a superhero that made me feel seen. I could relate to this Peter Parker, especially due to his youth and naivety. He was clumsy and imperfect, very unlike Iron Man or Captain America in my eyes. Plus, he wasn’t just worrying about the next supervillain, but he found himself worrying about things like schoolwork, school dances, and classmates. He was just like me, and while I adore Andrew Garfield’s kindness and genuineness, or Tobey Maguire’s intelligence and softness, Tom Holland was the one that lingered within me. I prefer the other Spider-Man movies, sure, but Tom Holland’s Peter Parker lingered within me, and Spider-Man Homecoming will always be a favorite of mine. It will always mean the world to me and bring me comfort, especially because now, I’m technically older than him. He was a little boy being thrust into a scary world, being given powers that not even he understood. He had a heart of gold and still does, trying his best to support everyone he can. No matter what, he puts everyone before himself, and that stuck with me. I want to dedicate myself to others and help them just like he does. Tom Holland’s Peter Parker felt like a best friend, someone I could see myself within, and still, I admire that about him. He will always be a favorite of mine, and someone I admire. He’s amazing, standing out amongst the others, because we see him grow. He doesn’t start with the same old origin story— he stays thrust in the world of being a hero, and that was different. I’ve always liked different, and that’s what he was, and currently is.

Ever since my younger years, art has always been a thing that means the world to me. I can recall being the only kid in class who enjoyed drawing, and doodling whenever I could, and I continued to draw through middle school, and especially during high school. All I want in life is a chance to be able to improve myself, and eventually reach my dreams of becoming a character designer because I love characters and I love stories. As of late, I’ve been getting more and more into storytelling once again, and this fuels my drive further and further. Because of these interests, I am pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art. With this degree and because I will be attending Marymount Manhattan College, I will be able to also focus on animation and illustration. I feel that attending Marymount will help me improve because I’ll be in a smaller school setting and I’ll be able to be taught more techniques to improve my current techniques. Honestly, I feel like I have a lot to learn, but with the help of a teacher, I feel like I can grow and improve. Apart from my interest in art, I do want to learn how to play an instrument. I’ve always been into music in general, but after Covid-19, a lot of my interests were pushed to the back burner. As a result, I think that learning an instrument will give me something to do rather than just scrolling my phone, watching television, or even just art and writing. Plus, I would love to get in touch with my love for music again, something that I feel has dwindled as of late. Lastly, a person who inspires me is my Computer Technology teacher, Ms. Evans. Because I attend Wunsche, the students are separated in pathways. There’s the Technology pathway, the Medical pathway, and lastly, the Professional pathway and my specific pathway is Technology. As a result of being a part of the Computer Technology pathway, I have been able to be taught by Ms. Evans. Ms. Evans has truly shown me what it means for a teacher to care for her students genuinely. She’s patient and loving, and an example of this was just yesterday. Despite having a few arguments with a student, she offered to buy his cap and gown out of the kindness of her heart, and that means a lot to me. She shows that no matter what scuffles we may have with her, she’ll always have our backs, and for a student who has faced so many teachers who just hand out bookwork and call it a day, that meant the world to me. Ms. Evans is so humble and loving, and even when I finally graduate, once I find my spot in the world, I know that I’ll always remember her no matter what. She’ll always mean a lot to me, even if we don’t talk much, and I will always admire her and her strength.

From a young age, I've always been drawn to art. Even before I knew my dad's history in art that cemented that this was my future, I always would draw and doodle. Art has always been a friend for me, something I could turn to when I was upset. I could draw my characters, people that I'd created and molded myself, and immediately my mood would shift, improving for the better. The fact that little drawings, no matter how good, show just how important art is to me. Art makes me feel emotions that not much else does. It can make me feel good, but it also can make me sad. It can make me angry, but it could also make me grateful. Art opens my eyes to the beauty in the world, but also the pain that comes with it, and I've always loved that. With my art, the most important thing to me is that people feel represented. Even if the characters don't look like them, I hope they can see themselves in them and feel like they, or the things they go through are being depicted with a sense of respect. For example, I have a character named Icarus Joyce, and he's been through a lot in his life, things that have both occurred to me and things that have not. Still, I feel seen through this character, and both increase the awareness that abusive parents truly harm their children and it takes a lot to heal from that and evoke emotions through both the art of him and the writings that accompany that. Icarus means a lot to me, even if he is a fictional character. He isn't two-dimensional to me, and his struggles are very much real. I feel like the absurdity that comes with him sometimes really draws attention to him, and gets people to see him for who he is, and that only is thanks to the creativity that comes with art. When I draw him, people can see him and tell that he's human and just like them. He struggles and has his highs and lows, just like them. I want my art to be relatable, and so far, that's been happening. I love knowing that characters like Icarus, the ones that sit with you, are ones that people are both drawn to and inspired by. Things like this inspire me, and I think this is why I keep going. By showing the struggles that occur in the real world, I feel like my art can help people heal. Sometimes, all someone needs is a listening ear, and knowing that someone, even if the someone is just a drawing on a page, is sharing these same feelings or going through the same situations is all they need. If someone feels represented in my creations, that's what will keep me going, through and through. Art is such an important thing to me, and if my art pushes people to create more of their own, as well as feels seen in my creations, that's all that matters.

An issue I find in my community as a black person is the more conservative way of thinking and the lack of acceptance. As I was shaped into the person I am now, I found myself blessed. I grew up with two, fairly healthy parents who deeply loved one another and barely argued, never found myself without a home, and always had clothes to wear. The thing is, I always felt detached from them, despite the kindness they supplied in shaping me. I've always been different, and my parents said when I was younger, something changed in me, like a flip-switching. Before, I used to be open, bold, and true to myself. While one of the things remained the same, I found myself closing off without even meaning to, and frankly, I was introduced to something I couldn't place a title upon then: anxiety. The world was scary, and the more I learned about it, the more I felt out of place, like a piece of a puzzle that was wrong, yet people still attempted to jam into a specific spot. It all came to a head in middle school, when I realized I might be queer. Being in the closet was nothing of interest to me, and after a while of holding my tongue, I finally came out to my mom, and her response was a nightmare. That was the moment, at the age of thirteen, when I realized I was different, and due to this difference, I would have to fight for what I wanted. This lack of acceptance from black parents is something that no child, especially that young should feel because it pushes them further into isolation, as well as increases the amount of distrust they have for their parents. In seventh grade, when I came out, her response shattered me. I could remember texting her early in the morning with shaky hands, unable to shake the desire to tell her. I trusted her then with my entire being because finally, it had felt like we had finally grown closer. "Would you stop loving me if I liked boys and girls?" I can remember typing, my body tensing as hard as it possibly could as a thirteen-year-old. It took her a period to respond, and the response was less than ideal, summing up to-- "If you haven't been sexual with a girl or thought about being sexual with a girl, you can't be queer, plus this is against what the Lord tells us." It was humiliating and isolating, especially because those around me, also queer, were slowly coming out and being accepted by parents who were similar to my own. Even now, remembering this hurts, and no other child should experience this because this wasn't the last time I struggled due to my queerness, it just happened to be the first. In my opinion, the only thing that people can do is speak up. Being queer is horrifically scary, especially when you're in the closet within the South. Growing up, I always heard horror stories of how people beat up others for being queer or simply hated them in general, and realizing that I was queer was scary. I didn't want to get hurt, and I still don't, but my queerness is a part of me and isn't something I can control. I didn't choose to be this way, and neither did the multitude of other queer children that were just like me. We people who are part of this community need to speak up and fight, and I will do the same.

Since I was young, I've always been into art. I can remember my parents sifting through old folders filled with pictures and previous work that I completed and showing me my messy, but deliberate scribbles on slightly faded construction paper. Even then, when I was barely able to hold a crayon properly, I created art, and I think this drive has led to me pursuing it further and further. One thing that I hold closely is that my dad used to draw, and one thing he told me is never to stop, for he stopped for a point of time and lost his ability to draw. My dad was talented then, and honestly, my dad is still talented, and I find myself wanting to be just as amazing as him. He's my biggest inspiration, and knowing that I share artistic abilities just like him pushed me to continue. Frankly, I'm not entirely sure when I got started, but in sixth grade, I started taking myself seriously. Of course, before this point, I drew frequently, but sixth grade was when characters with names started to blossom. Currently, I have an interest in character creation, and so I find my choice to create a gray wolf by the name of Prince to be an incredible stepping stone to my current position. With Prince, I drew him everywhere and every situation. The wolf was a part of me, although we looked nothing alike funnily enough. I felt seen by him, and that, to me is the reason why art is important to me. With art, no matter how comical the character might be, someone can feel represented and seen by them. For a while, art was something to support me. It made me happy being able to doodle animals and then humans responding to one another, as well as developing characters that felt authentic and realistic. My characters struggle just like any other human being, and to me, that's what makes art worth it to me. While different pieces have stories, I enjoy simply being able to depict my characters, and being able to doodle and properly see them on a page raises my spirits. I n the sixth grade though, when this interest began in really creating characters rather than just doodling animals, I had two biggest influences; my peers and the internet. In the sixth grade, I was in performing arts, meaning I had more creative-driven classes--- art, choir, piano, and dance---, and that gave me the chance to meet people who inspire me even today. All my friends at the time created their own characters with lore, and frankly, I wanted to be just like them. I wanted to create beautiful characters with lists of lore that I could tell people and develop further the older I grew, and so I did. Plus, people on the internet have shown their art for a while, and I can remember wanting to draw humans so, so badly, but my knowledge only extended to animals because, for a while, that's all I drew. I can remember practicing and practicing, despite the judgment I experienced, and slowly, I became the artist I'd always wanted to be in sixth grade. Now, the fact that a younger version of me would've killed to fill my current shoes in art is the thing that pushes me, because art is a scary, terrifying, yet beautiful career, one that I still want to pursue. In conclusion, the arts are important to me because they allow people to be seen, no matter the situation.

I will never forget the day I met Rue Bennet. I was younger, far too young to be watching Euphoria, but old enough to understand the complexities that came alongside Rue. She was electrifying, and every scene she was in immediately drew my attention. From her wild hair, unkempt, yet still beautiful, tired eyes, and maroon jacket, she was someone I admired, for, while she was struggling, she was incredibly bold and admirable. She was someone who suffered, yet a part of her oh-so-clearly wanted to break through and be amazing. It was then that I was able to soak in Zendaya's talents. Of course, I knew her from an early age, recalling her Disney endeavors, but none of these characters stuck like Rue. Despite all the aspects of Zendaya's career, the thing that I find myself admiring the most is her acting, for the way she can represent anyone with a sense of honesty and respect, is something that touches me and makes me want to grow. Not everyone can call attention to themselves in the way that Zendaya does in film. Even when playing a different character such as Chani in Dune, she calls all the attention to her with striking blue eyes and an aura of mystery. As Zendaya slides into these roles, she embodies the character and makes people of all different kinds feel seen. For example, the reason why I brought up Rue is because, to an extent, I feel just like her. While I don't struggle with drug issues, I do understand how it feels to be brushed off and slightly detached from those around you, no matter how hard you try. I understand the sudden shift of emotions, even when you're trying your hardest to bottle everything or calm down completely. I understand the panicked actions when someone slowly sees you in your most vulnerable state and pulls back. I understand Rue, and seeing Zendaya play her with so much compassion made me feel seen and respected. For a while, I identified with Rue and I still feel I do. I even have a red jacket just like hers! The thing with Zendaya is that anyone can play a character, but not everyone can play a character authentically and without a layer of judgment. Zendaya's characters from MJ to Rocky Blue all feel like real people I'd meet and befriend, and that's what makes her stand out. I incredibly admire Zendaya, and I can't help but admire these aspects of hers because not everyone has the capabilities of acting in such a way and each of her performances is beautiful and true to her.