As an artist, Joyce Zhao (12) has painted everything from flowers to animals to buildings, using a brushes, paints and paper to bring various scenes to life. And of all the things that she has painted, there is one specific type of painting that Joyce enjoys the most: landscapes.

“With the skies, you can incorporate so many colors, and with mountains, you get to blend different colors,” Joyce said. “That’s why I’m more drawn to painting landscapes.”

Despite spending some of her early years as a painter without fully enjoying art, Joyce has grown to appreciate the accomplishment and pride that she feels after finishing a painting as well as the ability to express herself.

“The end result is really beautiful and rewarding because you have something tangible where you can say, ‘Wow, I made this. This is a product of my hard work,’” Joyce said. “It also helps me to put my emotions on paper.”

As she progressed through high school, Joyce found that both painting and playing an instrument, two hobbies that once felt like burdens and sources of extra stress, have in fact helped her relax amidst school-driven stress.

“Both art and music started out as such a chore, but I really started to enjoy it, and it became a way for me to relieve stress instead of creating more stress,” Joyce said. “It’s just really helpful, and there are some times when painting and playing music have helped me so much, and I don’t know what I would have done without them.”

As she explored her burgeoning passions for art and music, Joyce decided to try a new instrument, choosing the trumpet due to its ability to play a wide range of notes despite its simple design.

“I’d played the piano, and I just wanted to try a new instrument,” Joyce said. “The trumpet just seemed really cool because it had three valves, but it could play so many notes and make so many different sounds.”

While she continued to play recreationally, Joyce truly found the motivation to improve and practice regularly when she joined the upper school orchestra.

“I wasn’t as motivated before, but orchestra really motivated me to play better,” Joyce said. “I realized that sure, at the beginning, it doesn’t sound good, but by the time of our performances, we always manage to sound really great.”

Orchestra also helped Joyce form lasting bonds with some of her older peers. As a freshman, she was at first reluctant to interact with the upperclassmen she met, but practicing and performing together helped her grow closer with her fellow students and make new friends.

“As a freshman, I was scared of the upperclassmen [in orchestra], but now I’m a senior, and I have friends who graduated before me,” Joyce said. “[Being in orchestra] was a really nice way to get to know new people, and it was a really good community.”

As a college-bound senior, Joyce hopes that underclassmen will remember her as someone who was open and friendly, just as she recalls her own older friends from orchestra for welcoming her.

“I hope they remember me as a friend and someone they could talk to because I really do enjoy interacting with people,” Joyce said.

As she prepares to leave high school behind, Joyce has begun to reflect on all that she has learned during her last four years of high school. Apart from learning to love art and music, she also feels as though she has found her own voice.

“I think in high school, it really opens your eyes to what society really is like, and you finally know enough to develop your own ideas and opinions, and I think that’s really helped me,” Joyce said.