Writing an essay is like being a frog in a pond, sitting on a lily pad: You can remain on your pad day and night, waiting for your thesis statement to come to you, which may come too late or not at all, or you can hop about and wade around and search for it, risking falling into a particularly deep ditch and never being able to get out. It is about finding a purpose to an otherwise random torrent of words, much like life is about looking for one�s reason for existence. What makes me want to risk jumping? What excites me and why? Leap to the next paragraph with me and let�s find out together.

          As far back as I can remember, I have always wanted to entertain, to be in the spotlight. I participated in plays and musicals in elementary school and would have done the same in junior high and high school had the opportunities presented themselves. Recently, when there has been a need to break the ice in a given situation, I will ask a silly question in a silly voice, or give a silly answer when asked something that I have no clue how to reply to. Seeing people laugh and enjoy themselves motivates me to act, even if what I do will forever mark me with a reputation of a casual jester.

          My first real training in public or stage performance was in the ninth grade, in which I was selected to participate in a drama class � and thus, to my immense joy, excused from taking physical education that year. This course was, if nothing else, an eye-opener, for in the years between my last elementary school performance and this first year of high school, I had forgotten how much I enjoyed pretending, dressing up, entertaining. I also realized how active a creative process acting and performing can be for everyone involved. I was enthralled by the concept of making fanciful ideas come to life. It was a very important event indeed.

          And then there came the notion of creating plots and characters from nothing. With writing I discovered that I could make a big impact on people�s lives, just like the screenwriter and the playwright do with their scripts. Being the orchestrator of something big would be a way of having total control, for the performer cannot entertain without something to talk about or a story to tell. I have been writing for the entirety of my high school education, and creating scenarios and stories since I can remember.

          I do not regret the hours I have spent thinking up characters and situations, then acting them out. I also do not regret having made a fool of myself in order to make someone smile, because in the end, any negative thoughts that person may have had were rectified. I love these things mentioned, and I love to share with others the things I love. Performing, entertaining, creating. Ideas related to and inseparable from one another. Much like frogs, ponds, and lily pads.