Weathersby Personal Statement Essay

Samantha (Sami) Weathersby Personal Statement

The arts have surrounded my life and family since I took my first breath. I experienced music, dance, storytelling, theatre, and visual arts immersion constantly, from the piano in our living room, to Mozart cassette tapes in the car, to pre-school church choirs. Early in life, I found that singing and dancing gave me a sense of pure joy and fulfillment distinctly unlike anything else. It provided freedom and catharsis and helped me escape real life. To this day, performance offers me that same joy and freedom, but it has been enhanced by the knowledge that I can help others escape their realities too. That empowerment has facilitated focus in my artistic pursuits and made them my life’s purpose.

As I grew, I began dance lessons, sang in more advanced choirs, and auditioned for community theatre shows, performing in my first musical around age seven. I found I loved Musical Theatre far more than any other art form, despite my young age preventing me from articulating this passion. I auditioned for as many shows as possible and faced rejection

I performed in every show I could, painted, did run-crew, made props, helped with costumes, ushered, watched as many shows as possible, and became intensely involved in my school’s Thespian Society, ultimately serving as Thespian Co-President. I took advantage of every opportunity, involving myself in around twenty-five shows between my freshman and senior years. I relished every minute of it. I lived in my school’s auditorium, but I would not trade those experiences for the world. Being involved in numerous shows, often simultaneously, my passion grew still further. I now feel ready to embark on a new journey in an intense, high-caliber B.F.A. Musical Theatre program. I have a great deal to learn, but I love to be challenged and I thirst for new knowledge and experiences to further my