A lot of young people are afraid to speak up on how they feel about certain things—me too, sometimes. A lot of what happens to us is not fair and nobody deserves it. Especially as a teenager, it’s very hard to talk about it because you feel like you’re going to be judged by the adults in your life.
When I joined The Possibility Project, it was before the pandemic. I felt very close with everyone from the beginning. I really felt like we were becoming a family when we shared the stories of our lives. Everybody was there for each other, trying to support one another, even though we were so different and everybody was emotional. We told each other everything and we felt trust with each other. It is very hard to find trust like that.
When the pandemic put us on lockdown, I was very anxious because I have a lot of people in my family who have pre-existing conditions, including myself, so I was very worried about them. I was also overwhelmed with school going virtual and a lot of the other random changes that nobody in the world was prepared for. Going to rehearsals online on Saturdays helped me forget about all of that stuff for a little bit and just focus on being there with my friends and doing something I love. When we were struggling, we were able to talk about it with each other because we felt comfortable. That was something that I was lucky to have throughout the lockdown—especially because in virtual school I wasn’t able to talk to my friends much.
I decided to come back again this year because this program has made me so happy. I have been able to speak about my own experiences and what I want to change in the world through our shows. We wrote them ourselves, which was a fun and unique experience. I hope our shows will make people who are in similar positions as us feel less alone. Sometimes when you are going through a lot of struggles, you feel like you are the only one and there’s nobody that understands you. When I was younger, I would have loved to have more podcasts, music videos, and tv shows, where I felt really connected to it, and that’s how I feel with the two shows I have worked on with The Possibility Project.
I think people should support The Possibility Project because this program gives young people the opportunity to express themselves, to learn more about the performing arts, and get other opportunities, like free SAT prep. More importantly, we get to create a family and be around a big group of people who are all very supportive and loving toward one another, and we get to change the world together.
I hope you will continue to support our virtual programs. I have loved my experience in the virtual Saturday Program, and I wouldn’t be the same without it.