Personal Statement (1.3)
Star to Be
By Juliette Davoine
By Juliette Davoine
On the stage of the auditorium at my high school, I took deep breaths as I placed my toes on the tape marked by a white “X”. The scorching heat of the spot light bounced off my body and showed my seemingly confident face. However, in reality, my whole body trembled as I peered into the crowd of blurry faces staring up at me. I wondered if I was making the right decision. In November of my sophomore year of high school, I heard the news that the spring show of my high school was “Annie,” one of my all-time favorite shows. I have participated in the high school plays for years, but I never dreamed of auditioning for a lead; I could not bear the judgement of the other cast members if I tried out. However, since I knew this show so well, I was determined to try out for the lead. I was certain that I would prove myself wrong by practicing daily and getting more confident in my skills. My mother, a professional singer and musical fanatic, was thrilled to find out I was auditioning, so we began working together.
After a couple weeks of practice, frustration set in when I tried to sing the most difficult part of the audition song. It seemed as though no matter how many times I tried, I struggled to get the right sound to come out. I began to question whether I should go through with the audition at all, and decided that I could not bear the embarrassment of messing up. So, I chose to stop practicing for nearly the whole month of December.
In January, with only a few weeks left until audition day, I began to think about how I may regret not trying out for the lead. I have never considered myself to be a quitter, and I concluded that the worst that can happen is that I will not get the part. So with little time left to practice, I started practicing all over again. As each day of practice passed, my confidence began to soar as I got more comfortable singing in front of people, even if my singing was not perfect. Before I knew it, it was already the afternoon of audition day.
On the stage of the auditorium, the director called our names to sing a part of “Tomorrow.” Once I heard my name, I shakily stepped on to the white tape marked “X,” and nodded to my accompanist to begin. I noticed that the more I sang, the easier it was to be on stage. Before I knew it, I sang the last note of the song as the pianist played the last chord. A huge sigh of relief released from my body; I was so proud of myself. My director did her usual assuring nod as I walked back to where I was seated earlier. Looking back, I could see the surprise in her eyes. I knew my hard work paid off.
A few days later, the cast list was released online. I stared at my computer screen, anxious to open it. Finally, after building up some courage, I clicked the link and searched for my name… There it was. My name appeared, not next to Annie, but for another lead named Star to Be. This character has an amazing singing solo that I never dreamed of singing. I was beyond ecstatic, even if I didn’t get the part I practiced for, My only goal was to push myself and try my best, and it turned out to be for the good. This experience will definitely help me with obstacles in my life to come and has taught me to focus on my own abilities, even if it is not in the way I expected.
After a couple weeks of practice, frustration set in when I tried to sing the most difficult part of the audition song. It seemed as though no matter how many times I tried, I struggled to get the right sound to come out. I began to question whether I should go through with the audition at all, and decided that I could not bear the embarrassment of messing up. So, I chose to stop practicing for nearly the whole month of December.
In January, with only a few weeks left until audition day, I began to think about how I may regret not trying out for the lead. I have never considered myself to be a quitter, and I concluded that the worst that can happen is that I will not get the part. So with little time left to practice, I started practicing all over again. As each day of practice passed, my confidence began to soar as I got more comfortable singing in front of people, even if my singing was not perfect. Before I knew it, it was already the afternoon of audition day.
On the stage of the auditorium, the director called our names to sing a part of “Tomorrow.” Once I heard my name, I shakily stepped on to the white tape marked “X,” and nodded to my accompanist to begin. I noticed that the more I sang, the easier it was to be on stage. Before I knew it, I sang the last note of the song as the pianist played the last chord. A huge sigh of relief released from my body; I was so proud of myself. My director did her usual assuring nod as I walked back to where I was seated earlier. Looking back, I could see the surprise in her eyes. I knew my hard work paid off.
A few days later, the cast list was released online. I stared at my computer screen, anxious to open it. Finally, after building up some courage, I clicked the link and searched for my name… There it was. My name appeared, not next to Annie, but for another lead named Star to Be. This character has an amazing singing solo that I never dreamed of singing. I was beyond ecstatic, even if I didn’t get the part I practiced for, My only goal was to push myself and try my best, and it turned out to be for the good. This experience will definitely help me with obstacles in my life to come and has taught me to focus on my own abilities, even if it is not in the way I expected.
Self-Reflection - Informational Interview (1.2)
After taking many assessments, surveys, and going to career day, I have learned a lot about myself and my future career goals. The “Do What You Are” reflection mostly helped me learn about my personality and what careers may be right for me by giving me a full report of examples that match my personality. It told me that my personality type is ISFJ, meaning I am a feeler, an introvert, a judger, and a sensor. My top related careers came mostly from arts,audio/visual, technology, communications, health science, law, public safety, science, engineering, etc. It told me I was not interested in anything that had to do with being a caretaker to older or younger people. I work well independently, but definitely enjoy being in a team setting.
During career day, my favorite presenter was the engineer from Boeing. He explained that people need to not only be logical and precise, but creative and a good problem-solver; even artistic ability is important. This helped me realize that my background in dance and music will actually help me in a career like engineering. The “Career Interest Profiler” assessment also helped me show what careers would be best for my interests, even very unlikely ones that I have never thought about before. Some careers that showed up that were surprising were science and law related. I’ve always been interested in science, but I never thought of actually pursuing a career in it because I just assumed that I’m not smart enough. But career day has taught me that if I work hard, then I can have any type of career that I want. The hard part is figuring out what exactly will make me happy in my career.
During career day, my favorite presenter was the engineer from Boeing. He explained that people need to not only be logical and precise, but creative and a good problem-solver; even artistic ability is important. This helped me realize that my background in dance and music will actually help me in a career like engineering. The “Career Interest Profiler” assessment also helped me show what careers would be best for my interests, even very unlikely ones that I have never thought about before. Some careers that showed up that were surprising were science and law related. I’ve always been interested in science, but I never thought of actually pursuing a career in it because I just assumed that I’m not smart enough. But career day has taught me that if I work hard, then I can have any type of career that I want. The hard part is figuring out what exactly will make me happy in my career.