“Your education is the one thing no one can ever take away from you.” My dad told me this one day as he was driving me to an acting class. He always instilled little bits of wisdom here and there into me and, to this day, I don’t think he truly realizes how big of an impact he has had on me. Both of my parents immigrated to America from Jamaica. My dad when he was 14 and my mom when she was in her early 20s. They left everything they knew to build a better life for themselves and eventually for my twin brother and I. Growing up, we were reminded of how much harder we had to work in life solely because we were black in America. My twin brother and I received this talk when we were just seven years old. As we continued through school, my brother and I started to gravitate towards the things that we were most passionate about. For me, it was the performing arts. I was reminded by my parents that people of color are nowhere near as represented as white people and pursuing a career in the arts would be extremely difficult. Understanding that they left their country and moved to a completely new place with people that they didn’t know made me realize that that was one of the hardest things anybody could ever do. Because I came from both of them, I figured anything that I wanted to tackle that was deemed “hard”, I would easily be able to accomplish it because I came from them. Throughout middle school and high school, I continued to pursue a career in the arts. I did everything from visual arts to fine arts to performing arts. I’ve won awards and I’ve met incredible people who are exactly where I want to be. Three weeks after I graduated high school, I moved to New York to continue to chase my dreams. I attended an acting conservatory for two years and have been accepted to Hunter College where I would like to continue my studies and receive my Bachelor’s. My overall goal is to make movies, and art in general, that properly represents people of color. At Hunter College, I hope to continue to learn and connect with other like-minded individuals. ”Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Another quote my parents would always say to us. I am super excited to get closer and closer to making that statement my reality.

Acting is an art form that has become a part of my life forever. The link below is a short film starring myself, Noelle Ramsay. With this character, I tried to capture the feelings of hope and faith—something all artists have at some point in time. Along with the film, I attached some fine art pieces created during the Covid-19 lockdown. Going natural was a huge change for me, but it was freeing. Chaos seemed to ensure throughout the media and amongst people-a clear head seemed necessary but hard to achieve. And finally, apples. Sometimes you just gotta draw some fruit! I currently attend a conservatory to continue studying acting for the stage and the screen. Through my art, I plan to inspire people and, I would like to one day hold my scholarship for people who want to pursue a career in the arts. I’m at a point where reality about finances is starting to set in and, if I can alleviate that stress for someone, I think it would be one of my greatest accomplishments.

Viola Davis once stated, "There's one place where all the people with the greatest potential are gathered. That's the graveyard." This puzzled me immediately. She was accepting her Academy Award yet was talking about a cemetery. It wasn't until she elaborated and said that she wanted to tell stories of the people buried in the graveyard. It was at that moment that the gift of being an actress clicked with me. I want a successful career as an actress. That doesn't mean being as big as Viola Davis or as talked about as Timothee Chalamet. To me, it means being able to live financially free. It means being able to walk through life without worry. It means being able to give back to the world in any way I can. Acting is about understanding people and I think understanding comes with appreciation. My dream for my future career is to be able to help people I know and appreciate. I also want to help people I don't know–whether that be emotionally, mentally, or physically.

The Shawshank Redemption. A beautiful film about a man sentenced to life in prison but then escaping. Most people would assume now their life is over, but nothing is over until it is over! Frank Darabont did an excellent job directing this picture. Spoiler alert: The main character--Andy--had devised a ridiculous escape plan, revealed at the end of the story. The little projects and things that led to his final escape were mind-blowing because it was all shown implicitly throughout the film. Talk about hiding in plain sight! This film taught me about sneaky people can be no matter how they present themselves! Andy seems to accept his sentence; however, he knows prison is not where he belongs. There are many lessons to learn from the film, but my biggest takeaway is the importance of optimism. The protagonist of the story never once settled with the idea of staying locked up for life. This mentality set him free of doubt and imprisonment.