“I wish I could support you and the big dreams you have in your head… but it’s just too out of reach. It’s too expensive, it’s unrealistic, and there aren’t many opportunities like that for women that look like us.” This was the first time my mother was honest about how she felt regarding my passion for acting. The night we got the eviction notice sent to our house, my mother, sister, and I sat on the living room couch and watched Enchanted on Netflix. We laughed so hard our cheeks ached. It was the first time in a while I saw my mother that joyous and carefree. And I found it so amusing that a performance could have the ability to alter someone's emotions as if they were their own completely. And how actors could make people feel things as if their stories were melded together. I knew for sure that I also wanted to have that same effect on people. I knew I wanted to spend my life giving people this feeling. However, my family suggested that I have a backup. Now, in most ethnic households, a “backup” in regard to a career means doctor, lawyer, nurse, or anything else pertaining to STEM, especially when you are a first-generation student, because those jobs guarantee you money. For that reason, I went into my first year of college with a double major in Acting and in Pre-biomedical sciences–I dropped Pre-med three months into my college education. What my family doesn’t see, however, is that when I act, I am free. It is not just something I see myself doing as a career, not solely a passion or merely an outlet. Acting is my portal—a portal into another dimension with infinite possibilities. When I act, there isn’t a thought in my mind about the past or the future, only the present. A monologue is a canvas– a way to express myself in any way I can think of without being told that it is wrong because it is an art. Individuals interpret art, and we, as individuals, are subjective, as is our craft. A monologue does not care what I look like or what's in my bank account. It doesn’t care about my past or judge me for it. Acting is inviting, regardless of who I am, and it welcomes me to do greater, to be greater. For these reasons, I will never give up on it, as it has never given up on me. When life swallows me whole, and it feels like every aspect of it is causing me to sink deeper and deeper into the abyss, the darkness, the bottomless pit that is sometimes my world, I remember that there is always another choice. My passion is my fuel. It keeps me going when I seem to have nothing left to give or when the world has nothing left to offer me. And yes, there are other paths and other passions. But acting is the path that I know in my whole being I am meant to be on. Acting is the reason I choose to swim.

I’ve never been the best at introductions. I tend to either give away too much or reveal too little, but I will do my best in this one since I know it has the potential to count! My name is Tana Brown, and I am a nineteen-year-old second-generation Kenyan-American girl from Atlanta, Georgia. I dream too big even though my dreams may not be attainable… or so I’m told. I’m an aspiring actress and activist who hopes to positively impact the world around me, especially now when it seems like there is more bad news than good. I am currently attending a small liberal arts college in New York, but I plan to transfer as a sophomore as I feel like don’t belong in my current university. I have always had a passion for activism and for giving back. The idea of being a voice for those who can’t voice theirs is something that gives me purpose. I believe that everyone, regardless of their race, gender identity, sexual orientation, or religion, should be granted an equal opportunity. Because of this, during the pandemic, I took an online course to become a CNA and work with patients of color in my community who couldn’t afford to pay the price of private CNA’s provided by hospitals. People of color have the highest rates of deaths at hospitals, and African-American individuals are 3x more likely to face racial bias in healthcare systems. I worked under Smiling Souls Homecare LLC, a local Black female–owned home health care company to change this narrative. Many individuals of color aren’t given ample opportunities, and a lot of the time, these are for reasons that they cannot control. I fight because I understand that. I know what it’s like to be denied something solely based on the color of my skin– to be treated differently because of something I cannot control. In a land where we're promised equality and freedom, we often feel claustrophobic– suffocated in a world that wants to confine us and treat us less than–I would go many lengths to prevent someone similar to me, a person of color, from feeling this way. In a few years, I plan to give back to my community by starting a company that helps provide homeless people of color with job opportunities and housing while they do so. I know there are employment opportunities for homeless individuals, but frequently, there is a hidden selective process behind these programs. Statistics show that the majority of individuals who are homeless are people of color. However, it is mostly the latter that get offered these job opportunities provided by companies aimed towards inclusivity. I aim to help young homeless people from 15-24. While they are younger, they have time to get on the right track and remain on this path to brighter futures. This way, there are more future entrepreneurs in our community, engineers, and community helpers. Crime rates will go down, more people will be employed, and the rates for homelessness will go down! The housing will not only give them a warm place to rest their head at night and a sense of community with other individuals in a shared situation, but it will give them an address to attach to their job application. A stable home address would help bridge the gap between the potential employer and the homeless individual as it would amplify the amount of trust the employer would have for them as well. The permanent address would help them get credit and debit cards, bank accounts, disability and social security payments, and other government-issued payments.