My name is Taylor Hofbauer and this essay will teach you about me. I'm in 12th grade and have already been accepted into Drew University, Centenary University, Seton Hall, and Montclair State University. I'm planning on majoring in Theatre Education so I can teach the arts of theatre and inspire others to confidently perform. Currently, I'm in my high school's spring musical: "Bring It On" as an ensemble character named Carter. I've participated in 8 productions, which includes the one I'm currently in. Additionally, I volunteer at my church as an usher, CCD teacher, assistant streamer for our livestreamed masses, and I occasionally assist my mom who teaches Children's Liturgy. The financial need I have entering higher education is a portion of money that my parents have been putting aside for me for years. However, this sadly does not cover the entire tuition. Due to this, I have been completing scholarships almost every month so I can hopefully earn enough money to pay for my entire tuition. I keep the children safe in my community during my summer job as a counselor at Jockey Hollow Girl Scout Camp. Every week I'm assigned to a group of 20 or fewer girls who occasionally get teased or bullied so they come to me to help them stand up for themselves. One specific example I have is when my group was choreographing a dance routine to "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper for The Camp Talent Show. One of the girls who was choreographing was bossing everyone around and picking on the girls for messing up. Additionally, she was trying to have complete control over the whole routine, even though other girls were trying to add input. After talking to heads of camp and the other counselors in our group, we decided the best thing to do was force the bully to sit out of the talent show performance. In regards to keeping children safe from online bullying, I do not have a specific way to do that since that is an issue I never had to face. However, as the oldest out of five cousins ranging from the ages of five to fifteen who all have access to the internet, I may have to face this issue. If any of them ever came to me and confessed they were scared to tell their parents that they were being cyberbullied, I would tell them to block the number and call the police if threats are involved. All in all, I hope this essay taught you a lot about me.

One reason I'm a fan of Wicked is that it was the first show that I had my playbill signed by a cast member. When I first started going to Broadway shows, it was 2022 so this experience was not an option. Sadly, getting my playbill signed was a dream I had since the pandemic. Then in 2023, I went to see Wicked with Girl Scouts in my area and then my dream came true. At the end of the musical, my mom and I went to the stage door where I met two of the cast members. First, I met Jordan Litz who played Fiyero that night and he was really nice. However, the next actor I met accidently connected with me on a personal level. It was Kimber Elayne Sprawl who played Nessarose that night. Before she walked over to me, I overheard someone say, "Happy Birthday!" I didn't hear the context of the conversation so I thought it was Kimber's birthday. So when she walked up to me I wished her a happy birthday. She said, "It's not my birthday, my birthday is not till December" My birthday was also in December so I asked, "When is you birthday?" "December 14th" She said. "Mine too" I was so shocked. After thanking her for signing my playbill as she was walking away, I felt amazed. I turned to my Mom and said, "Wow! An amazing Broadway performed has the same birthday as me! That's so cool!" This revaluation had my star struck for a while since I felt close to a Broadway actress who knew nothing about me until a few seconds. To conclude, Wicked is a musical that I'm a fan of since one of my dreams came true when I saw it live and I also feel a special connection with one of the cast members.