Haedyn Pre-Trip Blog

Hello everyone, my name is Haedyn, and I’m a rising junior grader. I joined NPAC when I was in seventh grade, and I’ve been in it for four years!

What inspired me to join this program was one of my friends in the program telling me about it, and all of the shows and performances they do. Ever since joining, it’s been such a fun experience to do so many shows with many kinds of people in the program. From Disney to even more local shows, each one was a memory that I hold close to my heart.

Something that I am looking forward to most in New York definitely has to be the 9/11 memorial and also the museum. Ever since I actually learned about that tragic day properly with no sugar coating, I became kind of obsessed with learning all about different people who were sadly lost on that day. I really want to be able to see the people I’ve learned about, see the area where the towers were originally built, and of course the museum with even more facts that I didn’t know about the event.

A landmark that I’m especially excited to see is the Statue of Liberty! I’ve only ever seen it from afar, around the morning time. This time when we do see it, it’s going to be at night when the statue is actually lit up, and I’m so excited to see how pretty it looks with the lights on it! And, of course, Instagram picture opportunities to post later.

One “bucket list” moment I hope happens on the trip is getting a picture of the “Starry Night” painting and a picture with the “Campbell’s Soup Cans” painting! I’ve always loved modern art, and to think that I have the chance to see the actual paintings in person makes my heart just pound whenever I think about it! I really hope we get enough time to see them when we go to the MoMA!

What I hope to learn from this experience artistically, specifically from the Moulin Rouge workshop we’re doing, is new tactics or ways to do things quickly and pick things up quickly! I think that learning from a professional actor or actress from that show really will help us all develop some new ways to do things for our shows when we come back home!

How I think this trip will impact my growth as a performer is by making me stronger and more confident in different things I try to do for shows in the future. I also think it’ll make me less scared to look goofy and try more things out instead of doing certain things repetitively. How I think this trip is going to impact me as a person is by making me learn to be more cautious in the things I do, and make me think before doing things. Not only in practicing, but also in the way I speak and act towards others.

A goal I have for this trip is to get as many aesthetic pictures as possible, along with some silly, fun, and cute pictures of my friends on the trip. All for memories and of course to show my family and friends when we all return from the trip!

It makes me feel so happy to know that I am one of the lucky ones to be able to represent NPAC in New York. I find it so amazing and it means so much to me because we’re able to show more than just Hawai’i who we are as a program and that we work hard in what we do together.