Transfer Essay

College is a time for one to focus on the career she truly wants to pursue. Some people are completely sure of themselves once they enter this part of their life. They know exactly what they want to do. Others aren't so sure. I always felt lucky throughout high school; I knewÐ' I wanted to perform.Ð' I loved playing in orchestras, singing in the choir, playing in quartets, dancing, acting, singing solo, fiddling, even painting. Then suddenly, during my senior year, I found myself sitting back in disbelief. All of my growing left me with experience in each area rather than growth. I started to realize that it was unimaginable to picture a life without all of the things I loved.

My school experience was not uncommon. I had been surrounded by encouraging teachers--people who wanted me to try everything and explore the possible talents I could posses. I felt like college crept up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. Senior year I only knew one thing: I needed to perform. I wasn't ready to choose between my two loves.Ð' It was the first time I began hovering over a decision: What to perform? I had played violin for a longer period of time, but my voice teacher kept urging me to go for music theater performance. Needing to make the decision quickly, I chose violin.Ð' I had friends who had done many more shows than I, and going into theater didn't seem to make sense with the experience I had. In short, people knew me as a violinist; not an actress.

My frustration escalated when I had no options open for myself. Besides contemplating performing, I also fought against the contrasting opinions of my parents. They were very assertive and content about me going to school in Maine. They had been pleased to live their lives here and seems to feel that I too could be satisfied never even seeing a big city. They'd also question my loyalty to my home, and treated me like I didn't appreciate the easy going nature of our seaside town.

Ð' IÐ' was sickened by the image of living in the same town for another 4 years. The same people. The same buildings. Once we decided I was staying in Maine, my town looked dull and boring. It felt this way because my heart had been set on the adventure of somewhere new.Ð' My heart desired the city, the lights, the excitement; it hungered for new people and experiences.

I enrolled into the University of Southern Maine which is only 20 minutes away from my home. I had done lots of work at USM; I was familiar with facult there and the campus. Because of my familarity, I didn't feel the shift one's supposed to feel when they go to college. I started the semester studying voice and violin as usual, ut added some musical theater coaching and continued doing shows in the area.

In addition, I felt myself make a shift in my interests. I started to focus intensely on my singing and acting. I thought it was too late to go into Music Theater