The Stories Behind My Monologue and State Costume

State Costume Story:

I struggled trying to figure out what to do as my state costume. I wanted to do something unique that most people might not think of. However, the only thing I could think of was how California Locals always joke about how our state is “always on fire.” So, I decided to take the idea of wildfires and mix it with some fantasy, creating my concept for a fire fairy. It gave me the freedom to incorporate a little of California and a little of myself into one costume. Now the real struggle came when I needed to write my one-minute speech explaining my costume. My first step was to look for any lore regarding fire fairies. During my research, I found a few different lores, but they did not quite fit with California. However, I played with what I saw and created my own lore for my costume.

Monologue Story:

For my monologue, I wanted to avoid something generic that could be found anywhere. I wanted it to be unique and memorable. One of the first things I thought of was the poem I had written my senior year of high school about claustraphobia. It was a good poem, but it wasn’t something that was particularly close to me or that I personally struggled with. So I decided against using it again. Instead, I created a new poem about something I personally struggle with: anxiety. I ended up writing a page and a half poem on anxiety. My poem on anxiety, ironically, gave me so much anxiety. Public speaking is so much harder when you are presenting something that hits close to home.