Me, Myself & I

Me,

Myself

&

I

Misconceptions and rumors can be counteracted by listening to the whole story

BY JENNINGS FELT AND SAHANA ARUMANI

Freshman Rebecca Little

Photo | Victoria Navarette

Freshman Becca Little’s cover may read “Extrovert,” but the story that follows isn’t quite so simple. A passionate member of the theater community, Little embraces her social adeptness as she continues on her spiritual journey of self-betterment.

Since seventh grade, Little says she has gone through a phase of selfrealization. She has evolved from a self-proclaimed “haywire kid” to her current energetic, outgoing and humorous self. This transition is a product of one unmistakeable plot twist—religion.

Growing up as a pastor’s granddaughter, religion has always been intertwined in Little’s life. Churchgoing is a habit. However, in eighth grade, she started to immerse herself more actively in the community and her religion

by frequenting her youth group and reading the Bible.

Little finds this involvement directly affected her social reputation. She says a bout of perspective resulted in her becoming a changed person. However, Little finds that even now, people on the fringes of her social circle tend to incorrectly label her as unkind.

“If you really really know me,” she said, “You know that I’m just naturally super sarcastic and funny and trying to joke around.”

Another integral part of Little’s life is her love for theater.

She dipped her toe into musicals in middle school, where she was cast as a lioness in the production of “The Lion King” and as Dorothy’s understudy in “The Wizard of Oz.” These early roles served as a launching pad into plays such as “Anne With an E” and “Bye, Bye Birdie,” in which she participated in the ensemble. However, the pinnacle of Little’s acting career so far was being cast as a Lost Boy in the production of “Peter Pan.” “That was the best show I was ever in,” she said. “It was so fun to be crazy on stage in that role.”

Little is also inspired by role models in the theater industry such as Andrew Keenan Bolger, who played Jesse Tuck in one of her favorite plays, “Tuck Everlasting.” Pulling from Bolger’s strong sense of perseverance, Little hopes to dedicate her future to giving scripts a life and characters a voice.

“I just love the talent that people have to be able to go in front of millions of people and just belt-sing and be them,” Little said. “And I just want to do that when I’m older, because why not?”

While theater is always within earshot, Little admits it comes with a stereotype of being “loud and obnoxious.” But she doesn’t let that sway her. She maintains a strong sense of identity.

“I feel like if more people were themselves, it just would be better.”

Senior, Jack Powell feels most at home when performing on stage. His love for theater lives within both the black box walls and on stage for the community as he lets his inner thespian free. Powell considers himself to be one of the “theater kids” here at Loudoun Valley. He also feels like his “theater kid” stereotype has affected his relationships with others.

“I wasn’t a center of attention, people weren’t necessarily drawn to me for a lot of my life and theater not necessarily enhanced that, but it just made it clearer.” Senior Jack Powell Photo | Alison Pike

Powell gave the example of two different types of stereotypes. The athlete and the theater kid.

Those two groups would not normally spend time together, but if they were to find a similar interest, like soccer, they would be able to connect on a whole new level than if they had just continued to go their separate ways. “Stereotypes are a negative way to categorize somebody just because of the way they act or the things they do,” Powell said.

Looking past stereotypes can be a challenge for some people. They are everywhere, and people naturally have a tendency to overlook the details. However, Powell believes it’s possible for people to view a person for who they truly are.

“Get to know them in situations that [are] not central to them because that’s going to help you get a much broader perspective on who they are, and then you might like them,” Powell said.

To Powell, people are more than what they do. He believes that people should take time to get to know someone.

“Everyone should be open to just get to know a person for their real personality and not necessarily for what they do,” he said.

He believes that people should look past their differences and focus on their similarities. By doing so, connections can be made that would not have happened otherwise. “There’s a bridge, that stereotype is broken,” Powell said. “I think stereotypes are just completely horrific because they just ruin something that can be fantastic.” “ Ever yone should be open to just get to know a person for their real personalit y and not necessarily for what they do.

”

something so that they can learn more about me before they stereotype me,” he said. While it is easier said than done, Hall said that by giving people a chance instead of basing everything on stereotypes, it will be easier to see who the person truly i

Sophomore Benjamin Hall

Photo | Alison Pike

Standing 6’7”, sophomore Ben Hall is a champion on the basketball court. His height allows him to dominate the game. However, along with the positive stereotypes that come with being tall, he experiences downfalls as well.

To Hall, the hardest time he has with his stereotype is on the first day of school.

“Well I get a lot of ‘holy crap,’ on the first day of school especially, and that’s not fun. When I’m with my friends though, it doesn’t affect me that much,” Hall said. “They like me for who I am.” “Everyone expects me to be a basketball player since I’m tall.”

However, instead of hiding from his stereotype, he embraces it. Seeing as he can’t get away from his height, he goes along with it and decides to look at the positive side.

“It’s who I am,” he said. “I can’t change that, so why be mad at it if you can’t change it?”

Hall believes that stereotyping is just a normal part of being human.

“That’s just what comes to them normal — like that’s what everyone does now,” Hall said. “It’s not a good thing, but everyone does it.”

Hall believes that we should not judge so quickly. By giving people a chance, impressions won’t be based on stereotypes.

“Make them watch a game or

Junior Lindsey O’Hara resides under the stereotype of perpetual reliability. She is mainly perceived as being constantly “put together” in the context of the classroom. However, this blanket statement masks O’Hara’s true background, struggles and ambitions.

Success in school and life are the overarching goals to which O’Hara devotes much of her time. One of the most critical goals O’Hara wants to achieve is a pristine academic record. However, she notes that this drive also comes with multipule sources of stress and anxiety. “School is probably the biggest one because I really care about how well I do,” she said. O’Hara’s oasis from this stressor is a tranquil setting surrounded by her friends. She finds that once she connects with someone, she no longer comes off as guarded or reserved.

“When I’m with somebody who makes me feel comfortable, I tend to stick with them and let myself be who I actually am,” she said.

However, getting good grades isn’t a goal created in a vacuum. There is a context to her determination that connects to a desire to move out of Purcellville and create a life in which she is free to travel to dream destinations such as Paris and Hawaii, have a family and experiment with politics, her area of interest.

Another important aspect of O’Hara’s life is her family. She

Junior Lindsey O’Hara

Photo | Alison Pike

characterizes them as loving, hilarious and connected. Some cherished moments include her family driving up to her birthplace, Pittsburg, in to visit their grandparents.

“I just have really fond memories of driving up to see my grandparents in the winter and seeing all the mountains,” she said.

O’Hara feels as though the stories of others are overlooked largely because teenage conversations often take a detour.

“I think people look for their lives to be interesting and entertaining when they actually want something to talk about,” she said. “It’s easy to talk about someone else and not talk about yourself.”

O’Hara believes that assumptions cannot be made at first glance.

“I would just say keep in mind that when you are like looking at someone or talking to someone, that you have no idea what that person is going through or what’s happening in their lives.”