My name is Flynn Barlow and I take Drama. I started taking Drama as a subject in Year 10 and I still do to this day.

Taking Drama has allowed my self-confidence to truly flourish and expand to the point that I can now openly express myself without any doubts in my mind holding me back.

When I first joined Drama, I was a shy and anxious person who struggled to provide input into class discussions. Over the years, I went through various struggles and drama acted as a catalyst that allowed me to learn and develop as a person

To be fully honest, there were aspects of the class that were difficult. For instance, working in groups with students who didn’t care enough to try, definitely made succeeding a lot more complicated than in other classes. There is a lot of group work in Drama and so the people you work with can either hinder or enhance your chances of success. Although, Drama still had enough of an impact on me to open my eyes and see myself and the worlds around me in new and different ways.

This subject has allowed me to learn and enhance skills such as leadership, teamwork, and communication. I was given the role of Class Captain in Year 10 which allowed me to learn to man the ropes when the teacher was unavailable and work still needed to be done. In Year 11, I was around a lot of the same people from the previous year. The extra time helped us grow closer and I was also able to learn a lot about my peers and their personal lives. Developing real and meaningful friendships in the class has been one of the greatest benefits. In Year 12, I was able to experience working with both Year 13 and other Year 12 students, and then in Year 13, I got to experience it from the other point of view. I was able to learn from others who had been in the class for the last five years which helped me to grow enormously as an individual.

Sadly, I don’t always think Drama is the most amazing class ever. There are downsides to every subject and personally, there have been multiple Drama assessments that I have found quite difficult. I believe there is a false impression about Drama, some people think it is all fun, games and playing “silly buggers” but it is actually challenging, both creatively and academically. Even through the struggles and failures, I was still learning and growing. I now realise that I probably learned more from my mistakes and missteps than my successes. Drama is all about presenting your knowledge and skills for feedback and it is the feedback that highlights your shortcomings and helps you to hone your performance skills for the better. Don’t get me wrong, who doesn’t like a round of applause, but being shown where you need to improve and consequentially reaching success is undeniably satisfying.

In my experience, if you take Drama, you will garner valuable life skills and will grow friendships from the most unexpected places. It improves your confidence and resilience and I feel it is not something you will regret.