I am constantly learning, unlearning, and relearning.

By Amirah Johnson

My name is Amirah Iman Johnson. I am a human being filled with love, light, and lots of dreams. I was born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey- a cultural melting pot that is ranked as America’s second most diverse city. My upbringing was a good one. As it was filled with classic Puerto-Rican dishes, salsa music, coffee, support, fun, and love. Throughout my childhood, my mom kept me well-rounded, dance, sports, music, acting, and girl scouts just to name a few activities. I am very thankful for my diverse upbringing. Without it, I would not be the adventurous and imaginative person I am today. I am constantly learning and seeking to discover new talents within me.

I attended High Technical High School in North Bergen, New Jersey. I graduated in 2018. The school focused on vocation/occupation-specific instruction, so we had majors. My major was Drama. I am a current senior at Delaware State University majoring in Mass Communications with a concentration in Digital Media Production. I am graduating in May of 2022. Throughout school, I continued with that open-minded mentality and participated in-many extracurriculars. However, I realized that I felt a deep connection to one specific thing-the arts. More specifically dance, theatre, and music. My hopes for my professional career are to be a storyteller. I constantly daydream and imagine scenarios. My observation and curiosity about the world heavily influence my thoughts. Writing helps me transform my thoughts into stories. I cannot create anything without my favorite ingredient, which is authenticity. I hope to be writing and creating films and television series.

My opinion about life, in general, is that it is a cycle of growth. I am constantly learning, unlearning, and relearning. I don’t want to be the same person I was a year ago, six months ago, or even a week ago. I am constantly evolving into my best possible self and most authentic self. At this moment in time, I believe the purpose of my life is to just be a good human. To be a ray of sunshine. Help others. Be a reason why someone has faith that good people still exist. I hope to leave an impact on this earth in that way. I would consider myself somewhat religious and somewhat spiritual. I do not consider myself a part of any denomination. I simply believe in God, because I’ve personally felt His goodness. I also believe that the universe and angels have a hand in directing my path as well.

My role models would be myself, my grandma, my mom, and P! NK. My drive to constantly improve and work on myself inspires me. I am proud of the woman and human I’ve become. My grandmother inspires me, because she was the most generous and selfless human I’ve ever known. My mom inspires me because she has the biggest heart, and truly knows how to make people feel loved. P!nk inspires me, because she is not only a phenomenal artist, but an even better human. She has stayed true to her authentic self in an industry that wanted her to blend in. That to me is super inspiring.

My hobbies include listening to music, dancing, watching films, and theater. My favorite genres of music are indie pop, acoustic neo-soul, R&B, and hip hop. I would say dancing is more, so a necessity for me. It is something I enjoy doing as a hobby, but more importantly, it helps me express myself. It helps me feel everything I am feeling in my body. I love watching films and television series. They take you on a rollercoaster of emotions. I love the feeling of escaping reality and stepping into another world, even if it’s just for a little bit. I love watching plays and broadway musicals as well. I was involved in theatre productions throughout elementary to high school. Some hobbies I would like to pick up include singing, reading, and playing an instrument.

In five years I hope to be genuinely living my best life in all aspects. I want to be happy in my career, personal life, friendships, and environment. I also hope to have traveled and seen new places. I don’t have an ideal job, but I am certain that I want to work in film and television. Specifically in a creative space or team. I also hope to have learned new things, about myself, the world, and just about life itself. I’m very excited for the rest of what is to come in my life. I have met so many beautiful people, gained lots of opportunities, and have grown tremendously. The best in this life is yet to come for me, and I look forward to what these next five years will bring.