Motivated by Resilience, Driven by Purpose by Damarie

Motivated by Resilience, Driven by Purpose by Damarie - August 2025 Scholarship Essay

As I start my junior in high school, my goal is to do my best in school, find my voice and lead by example in the performing arts, while also being authentic to myself when life gets crazy. The focus will be on the workload because junior year is definitely the heaviest year of high school, and I am ready. I have signed up for advanced classes, and not only will those classes challenge me academically, but challenge my critical thinking, communication, and time-management skills. I want to stay active in theatre and I have been performing for almost 10 years. But this year, I want to take a more intentional leadership role, not just playing a character on stage, but as a mentor to younger students in rehearsals, to help create a positive learning community in the program.
As I think of all of this, I am mostly motivated by my story. At six-years-old, I suffered a traumatic head injury that forever altered everything. Doctors didn't think I would walk, talk or recover the way I did. But I did, and that perseverance is something I keep in the back of my mind as I work in every class, rehearsal, and challenge.
This year is about showing myself that I have changed and that I don't just want to survive. There will be opportunities to thrive, and in the end of my junior year, I will leave feeling proud of the risks I took, the effort I put forth, and the person I am becoming.