once upon a time, in the midnight hours, a child doused in star light, fairy dust and fire adorned her curls with a crown of silver and amethyst. this is the tale of her ascension.
My full name is Alexis Hope. My parents named me this because Alexis means helper or defender. They wanted me to be a strong support system and ray of sunshine for those around me. I am always striving to live up to my name with the help of my faith, my love for others, and my need to spread happiness through my smile. I believe that having a meaning behind one’s name and the proper influence can greatly impact one’s identity.
I grew up in a home that seemed to challenge certain expectations society has placed on families. For one, I am mixed, a beautiful blend of two beautiful races. My dad also stayed at home with my sister and I while my mom was a police officer, patrolling the streets and providing for us.
Half of my wonderful family are originally from Barbados. I visited there when I was five and I have longed to go back ever since. It is an island full of brilliant colours and vibrant, free spirited people. It is immersed in culture, history and pride. I am honoured to be from such a magical place, with its crystal waters and golden beaches.
With the free spiritedness of my ancestors flowing through my veins, it is no wonder why I adore animals. Specifically, lions, tigers, and wolves. These majestic beasts have a sense of nobility and dignity that other animals seem to lack. They have shown me that there is beauty in strength and confidence.
Over the years, I have been blessed with a number of incredible friends who have inspired me so much. I have grown immensely since meeting these people, as they encourage me to become a person who I am proud of. Their values and beliefs mirror and contrast my own, allowing for personal growth. It is important to have people in my life who make me laugh and smile so much.
There is an old saying that little girls are made of sugar and spice. Most people see my feisty, passionate side but I am careful to reveal my sweet, sensitive side to others. I do try to embrace my sweeter counterpart, which seems appropriate since I am addicted to sugary treats. I often do not share that part of myself for fear of being rejected but I am discovering the importance of being sweet in a bitter world.
Ever since I was little, I have dreamt of being a violinist. My grandparents were gracious enough to pay for my first year of violin lessons. After playing for almost six years, I learned disciple, patience, and an understanding of theory. Despite my adoration for this beautiful instrument, I quit my lessons in order to pursue another one of my passions.
My voice is a significant aspect of who I am. Not only do I enjoy speaking my mind, but I have a passion for singing. Music is notorious for evoking a range of emotions, through the tempo, lyrics and notes. Expressing myself through singing gave me the opportunity to experiment with melodies and harmonies, which allowed for me to have fun with my ability. I can make those around me feel a variety of emotions and while letting out my own feelings through the music.
Theatre has allowed me to explore parts of myself that I have never been able to reach before. The people who are apart of this diverse community have shown me how to use lights, sounds, and lines to share the stories of those who are not able to tell them. It is an out of body experience to act on stage, as you become a new person with different values and perspectives, allowing one to grow as an individual in their own personal life.
One of my favourite poets portrays a queen as someone who doesn’t back down, who is not afraid to share their voice, but who also echoes the voices of those around them. By calling myself a queen, I feel empowered to go out and change the world by being a leader rooted in love and confidence.
Lexi, you absolute angel:
Thank you for sharing so much of yourself with this lovely petchakucha. I love how you balanced images from your real life and more symbolic pictures in the presentation, but I must admit I have a soft spot for imagery. The lion and the brownies in particular were personal favorites. With these, you stated the common interpretation of them (independence and sweetness, respectively), but you delved beyond these surface-level interpretations and used them to illustrate more about yourself. Instead of leaving the brownies at, “I’m sweet,” you brought in your various sides, your sweet tooth, and part of your whole life philosophy. I absolutely loved this, and I can’t wait to see your analysis in an essay if you can pull all of that out of a jpeg of a dessert.
In terms of growth, I would caution against using description and imagery flippantly. I know that as AP kids we tend to throw in a lot of description and fancy diction to spice things up, but if you use your imagery sparingly and make sure that it has purpose behind it, it makes it all the more impactful.
Because these presentations were all-about-me, my final thought is about the queen herself. I see so much raw talent and confidence in you, and I have admired it since long before this class began. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself, both in this presentation and in your performances; it truly does make an impact. I’m sure I’ve already said this, but I still think about Dreamspyre all the time. 🙂
Love,
Maria
Maria,
You are so precious, thank you so much. I have long been infatuated with the use of description and imagery, but I never really realized that sometimes it is can weaken my writing. That piece of feedback is incredibly beneficial and I will definitely be more cautious from now on. I am so honoured by your words of praise. It is because of beautiful people like you that I have become more confident over the years. I am eternally grateful for you, as you are one of the most inspiring queens I know. Thank you again.
Lexi
Dear Alexis,
I think what you have written is a perfect resemblance of who you are- a queen. I especially loved the small bit that you included in the very beginning as it just proved even more thoroughly that you are in fact a queen. I especially loved that you included your fear of rejection and therefore not sharing the incredibly sensitive side of yourself. Your desire to be strong, free-willed, and passionate is shown all throughout your presentation, and I have no doubt that you will inspire everyone who reads your blog. Everything you wrote only confirms my already confident belief that you will change the world. I loved that you structured this project as kind of a life story in the beginning, then going into the passions that you have developed during your life. I think that this structure gave the audience a very well rounded description of who you are when you had a limited time frame.
One piece of feedback I give to you is to use your writing to go even deeper into your life. While keeping it concise, explain WHY you think it’s important to be a queen- go deeper than just surface level. This will make your work so powerful that Queen Elizabeth will take off her crown to give to you.
Another piece of feedback is to include me in your pechakucha as I am the most important part of your life. (haha i’m kidding but also NOT)
With love
– Petrina
Petrina,
You constantly support me, love me and fill me with confidence. I am beyond grateful for these beautiful words of encouragement. In my writing, I do realize the importance of being concise and in depth, and your suggestion about providing an explanation will definitely help me improve. You are such a kindred spirit, the Diana to my Anne. I ADORE YOU. Thank you for building me up day by day.
Lexi
Dear Lexi,
It’s comical how long I’ve known you but how little I actually knew about you. Up until this, I knew you went to school with me all the way from kindergarten and that you were in drama (aside from some other things), but it’s shocking to know some of these things about you. For instance I found it especially cool that your mom is a police officer, as that’s one of the occupations I’m largely interested in.
My only advice is to use your metaphors more effectively. You did a great job in this with the queen metaphor, but I think it could’ve been used a lot better had you mentioned it more throughout and not just beginning and end.
Other than that, this was a great read and I’m excited to get to know you better now that we’re forced to sit together for the next semester.
From,
Jimmy.
Jimmy,
I am really pleased that I was able to teach you some new things about myself!! Thank you for your advice, I wanted that to be a running theme throughout my presentation but I failed to actually thread it in. This year will be spectacular because of our family group, I am so grateful you are apart of it.
Lexi
Dearest Lexi,
First of all I would like to say that design-wise I love the way you formatted this post; it’s so aesthetically pleasing for me to observe and geek out on ideas to improve my own. But more importantly… you indeed are a queen! I loved the way you portrayed all these identifying factors of yourself and relating them to your own definition of who a queen is: dignified, strong, sweet, open, and the list goes on and on. Getting to know you more and work with you has been a wish of mine since I watched you act in Afterimage in our grade nine year and over the past year I have had amazing opportunities within drama class and especially in Dreamspyre to learn from you and it has really helped me grow who I am!
My only side-note for you would be to give some understanding to that quote you had under the queen picture at the beginning. I can make my own connection to how it relates to you of course, but (even though it wasn’t originally in your presentation) I would like to know what it means to you. This could be addressed in your mini intro or tie it back into your conclusion.
I constantly look up to you as one of my role models and seek to learn more and more from you! I feel this presentation helped me understand one of my best friends even more that I already did! Looking forward for the years to come!
Sincerely,
Luca (Speve)
Luca,
As always, you continue to be such a LIGHT in my life, thank you so much. I am currently growing nostalgic thinking about the incredible one acts we have been apart of together. You make such a good point, I can definitely see how an introduction about myself should actually explain what things in my life mean to me, and that quote is rather relevant. I am beyond grateful we are working together as you bring out such a creative, fun side in me. Thank you again.
Lexi