When I was in 11th and 12th grade,
I was accepted into the South Carolina Governor School of the Arts and Humanities.
It was in Greenville, South Carolina in the Piedmont area near the Appalachian mountains.
It was a thrill to then get recognized as winner of the national Young Arts award!
It was both super exciting and emotional.
I had to overcome some pretty mixed reactions from fellow students.
I grew from the experience and made new friends who were also YoungArts finalists.
This was during the confusion of the 2020 pandemic!
I still am proud of the achievement and grateful for the experience.