“One thing that defines me has always been my, kind of, resilience, like no matter how poorly something turns out, or if I don’t get the position or role I wanted, I will always continue and work hard and make sure that I, in the end, know that I worked hard for what I did.”
“Well, I’ve kind of figured out that I’m a very unpredictable person. I kind of take haste and, you know, throw stuff to the wind. I kind of act on a whim in most situations, including this one! With me, I’m always willing to just act on impulse sometimes, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, but it’s usually been good.”
“So I think that something huge that really impacted my life was when I moved from a remote, small, little, village that I grew up in. So, from going [from] a little village in a little country, [Guatemala], that is smaller than Nebraska, it has a huge, like, impact on you. Coming to Nebraska was really life changing. I’m happy I got the opportunity to go from nothing [to] being given a chance to become something here, and going to college, and, you know, following your dreams.”
“Theatre, music, band, drama, choir, all of it. It has inspired me since the day I was born. It’s who I am, it’s everything that I am, it’s everything that I breathe, and my life wouldn’t be the same without it. I know that the people in band would do absolutely anything for me, and I know that, and it just inspires me to keep going; it inspires me to be me, because, the arts are not a censored thing. They’re not a controlled thing. The arts are about expressing yourself and expressing every emotion, every thought, every feeling you’ve ever felt, and breaking boundaries. Nothing about the world can ever change that about the arts. It’s not about being safe, it’s about breaking the rules in the most beautiful and artistic way that touches everybody.”
“Something that impacted my life was being in Mr. Lowther’s class of art in elementary school. He told us Greek mythology stories- that was great- and now I am really into both art and Greek mythology, so, thanks Mr. L!”
“Getting involved in theatre has really changed me as a person. It not only helped me step out of my shell, but it also made me a more empathetic person, because as a performer, you have to step into, just, someone else’s shoes and experience a whole other world that isn’t your own. It just opened my eyes a little bit to what people experience in their own lives instead of my own.”
“I could not go to work every day, and I could not live my life if I didn’t know I was making a difference every day. I mean, even if you see somebody in the hall and they look sad and you smile at them, or you say good morning to them, or you ask about something that happened. You need to get to know your students, get to know people, and care about people, and build relationships with people. So I could not go to work every day if I didn’t think that I was making a difference for someone every day. That’s my whole life story.”
“[This quote is what came to mind,] ‘Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books- especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day.’ -John Wooden.”
“If ‘plan A’ doesn’t work, there are 25 other letters in the alphabet.”
“So the story that really defines who I am is when I [found] out about poetry from Mrs. Opperman my eighth grade year. I don’t know, I was used to just reading poetry and, like, talking about it in my English class, but she made us write our own poetry. I sat down and thought, ‘This sucks, I don’t know what to do, I’m not good at writing poetry. I can write stories, but not poetry,’ So I actually, like, started out and tried writing poetry, and it was terrible. But after a while, I thought about it and then I actually put my heart into it and I actually got a poem published in a book. I was like, ‘Wow, poetry is kind of fun!’ So if I’m ever bored or frustrated, I sit down and write poems now. It kind of is who I am. Like, I listen to music and I just write down what I’m thinking, and that’s just what I do when I’m upset.”
“Something that has actually impacted my life is probably the school’s fine arts department, because before I even came to the high school, I was pretty shy and like, talked to nobody. So, once I got started in doing that, I ended up showing my true self and ended up throwing myself out there into things I never thought I would do. I ended up making more friends and people see me as a different person and they realize that I actually have a good personality. So I’m actually proud that I did this because I’m different and it’s going to help me in life after high school.”
“I believe that life is too short to not eat dessert first.”
