Before entering the ring of high school, I would have never guessed that finding and
developing relationships would be one of the hardest subjects to conquer. I’ve had my fair share
of interactions with people and I’ve joined clubs, sports, and all of the above to get involved but
somehow, nothing has stayed with me for too long. An unfortunate draw of luck but I didn’t
mind the idea of going about my high school career alone; in fact, it was quite nice to just stay in
with the family. Naturally, though, I found that short lived lifestyle to be too mundane for the
sociable personality I have. As of my senior year, I joined theater. The first arts program which
forced me to encounter situations that would teach me to work within groups, rely on team
members, and face difficult moments when I would have to think on my toes. Valuable skills
which has provided me confidence to approach my life more profoundly. Through this program
was I also able to gain more friendships and development in social skills. I was only able to find
these fine discoveries through a beautiful person. A beautiful person who I’ve only been with for
2 years, but some of the most memorable years of school and perhaps, my life. Samantha
Strobel. A strong woman who I look up to. An independent, quick witted person who holds back
no hesitation. A human of exemplary example to all that deserves much praise; a beautiful
Sam and I were part of a program, in our junior year, called Link Crew; which focuses on
helping Freshman through their first year in high school. We weren’t particularly familiar with
each other but we were classroom acquaintances. Within that year, I grew to enjoy Sam’s
presence and incredible stories of theater, which is where my introduction to theater began. Sam
and I soon became friends and continued to carry that friendship into our senior year. She
encouraged me to audition for my first play and luckily, I was able to land a small role. Since the
audition, Sam and I began to develop our friendship out of school and branched out our group.
She is such an inspiration to me. She’s led on such a different life than mine but somehow this
world knew that we needed each other and I am forever grateful for that. The amount of care she
has given me, I hope I can reciprocate that back to her someday. She has taught me that the
struggles I have, I don’t have to carry it all, that true friends do exist, that life can be as simple or
difficult as you make it and she has surely helped me realize my self worth. Sam’s presence to
everyone is just joyful but for me, Sam means something greater than she thinks; a word which