I will be honest; I've never had a summer break before because we don't have any seasons in Malaysia. It has always been the constant heat with long schooling semesters since I was in primary school and at least a week to a month's break in between terms.

Each year high school seniors across the globe work tirelessly on college applications. At my high school, students typically apply to a range of 3 to 8 schools. While the normal college process is already time-consuming enough, those seeking a college experience on the stage live out a completely different senior year.

That’s part of what summer is about: family. Whether it be your biological family, the family you find through the cast of a show, or your friends who become your chosen family, you want to spend your summers with people who make you happy.

I’m from San Antonio, Texas, and have never visited New York before. When the amazing opportunity to spend my summer with The Glimmerglass Festival appeared, there was no hesitation to say yes. A dream to work alongside and learn from industry professionals came true. Now that I’m here, I’ve found myself in the middle of a beautiful nowhere which also happens to be where opera is being produced by world-class artists. It feels random, but it is extraordinary.

School is finally over. I let myself sleep in for as long as I could. Then when I wake up, I eat whatever I wanted, and binge my favorite series. It’s like revenge. I didn’t get to do that for the past months, so now I’m gonna. But then I realize that after all that, I will have that itch to be productive again. What should I do this summer?

I could not be more excited for the summer I have ahead. I look forward to meeting lots of students my age who share the same passion for musical theater as I do at the Paper Mill Playhouse Conservatory. And most of all, I cannot wait to spend my days doing what truly makes me happy.

As you get older, you begin to lose that childish part of yourself that made you feel so sure of who you are and you look for pieces to replace it. You are exposed to new emotions you never had to confront, emotions your parents never thought you’d confront. Emotions that boil at the surface and splash and burn everyone around you. But you don’t know how to handle it, you can’t find the knob to turn down the heat and reduce to a simmer.

Whatever it is you’re doing this summer, enjoy it. Take time to care and tend to yourself in ways that you’re not able to during the school year. Read, relax, laugh, make memories. Challenge yourself personally and professionally. Restore your zest for life while the sun is still shining!

If you’re not going out on a contract for the summer, DO NOT BE WORRIED! This is not a time to bog yourself down and feel bad for yourself - in fact, there’s two things you can do about it...

Hello again, readers! I hope you all are well! Happy summer vacation, to those of you who have completed your spring semester of school! As I have just completed my first full year of being a college student, I wanted to take an opportunity to reflect on the things I wish I knew before college. For most, college is the first time “adulting,” if you will, and that comes with a learning curve. The struggles I discovered this year and worked towards solving aid in my understanding of what it is to live, as I continue to discover more.

So, I sat down in my usual seat, the teacher took attendance, and then asked everyone who knew what Chat GPT was to raise their hand. Every hand flew up.

With the ability to auto-generate essays and access Google, Sparknotes, and Photomath, it is easy to abuse the moral code of academic integrity. But while these online sources may make completing homework “easier,” using them does not produce the same profitable outcome as manually doing one's homework.

Being in the ensemble of Carmen was probably one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had in my life as a theatre artist thus far. If you ever get the opportunity to be in an opera, I strongly encourage you to go for it by all means!

The struggle to maintain academic integrity is one that every student faces in their life, simply by nature of being human. But what exactly does academic integrity look like for students pursuing education in more artistic, creative fields, like theatre?

A love letter to my freshman year at NYU Tisch. Cue “Tongue Tied” by Grouplove.

You were just at school for 9 months and in a routine and now you're home, without having to be somewhere all the time. It can be an adjustment.

What does academic integrity mean to me? Well damn. That's a tough one, because it is such a broad term. Personally, I believe it to be, honoring the journey of your education and your peers by prioritizing academics and treating them with respect and honesty.

With grad season upon us, I find myself having finished my freshman year as a musical theatre major. This year has been one of adventures, stresses, new loves, and new lows– but through all of it I’ve been able to learn so much about myself and the field I hold so dearly. While I miss my life at school and can’t wait to continue it in the Fall, as most of us are, I am home for the summer, and asking myself– what comes next? What happens now that I’m home?

“The theatre is a place where one has time for the problems of people to whom one would show the door if they came to one’s office for a job” (Tennessee Williams).

Academic integrity is so important, especially in our career field. It prepares us on how to be professional in the future when we get out on our own and start auditioning/booking real, professional, paying jobs.

My first year of college is over and for some reason, nothing seems to have changed. I’m still lost on where my life is going, let alone where the next year is going, and I still feel like I’m just laying in post-high school degree limbo. I’m still trying to find the right school and I’m still trying to accept the change that was solidified when I moved my tassel.

Learning doesn’t have to be as difficult of a thing as we make it out to be. Find joy in it, practice good study habits, make learning fun and interesting for you. When you find ways to make learning enjoyable and not a chore, there’s no need to cheat. Do it for yourself! 

Broadway shows are expensive, and here are a few ways I try and keep the cost down.

When a new year begins, people often set goals. These goals may include things they want to achieve or habits they want to change, which they couldn't accomplish in the previous year.