My name is Sela Sangwin. I’m a first year student at Mount Holyoke College.
What I am up to at the moment:
As of 03/17/2025
I write from spring break back home in California! Currently pondering what is to be done about our political situation nationally and in my community, and how to cope in the absence of a solution. My realization is that community and compassion are the solution, and working towards those ends will be what keeps me sane.
At school, I’m in rehearsal for a production of David Adjmi’s Marie Antoinette. I’m taking Russian again, a Russian lit course, a course on Planet Earth (my science requirement) and intro to Cultural Anthropology. I still have no idea what I’ll major in, or more daunting, what I’ll do after college.
CURRENTLY READING
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Blog:
Musings
My Gap Year
I decided that I needed some time to prioritize and explore my divergent passions before I attend college.
The Gap Year Itinerary:
Summer working in theatre with NorCal SOTA.
Autumn in New York, learning as much as I can about the theatre industry— Auditions, classes with the Juilliard Extension and the Barrow Group, and interviews with industry professionals.
Applying to college (again.)
Spring volunteering at small-scale, sustainable farms through Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms.
About
I was born and raised in Northern California. My mother founded the non-profit ReCreate, which diverts waste to provide eco-art and STEAM hands-on education to our local schools. I grew up with sustainability, activism, and waste mindfulness on the forefront, as a result.
Theatre, literature, and history have always been my passions— the mediums of storytelling. I started out in theatre in elementary school, performing in school and local community theatre plays, then eventually writing and producing my own on the playground. I continued my theatre studies in Northern California School of the Arts’ Performing Arts Corps when I was in high school, where I discovered my deep love for Sondheim, Chekhov, Peters, and LuPone.
In college, I hope to study in the fields of Theatre, Anthropology, English, and Psychology. My hobbies include creating stick-art, textile arts, writing my children’s book, hiking, and reading (check out What I’m Reading).
Hello from a rainy day in NYC. The window is open, and my lamp is on. On days like these it seems like the universe is whispering hints at me. Sparse phrases I overhear in the coffee shop, words on the NYT crossword puzzle, lines in a song that I’d never really understood before seem to be directed at me, infused with the wisdom I need right now.