Marc Collins ’23 is a junior theatre major.
“I was crowned Homecoming King my senior year of high school. It was during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which was important to me because my sister had suffered from cancer, and she passed away.
So, for my homecoming suit, I wore an all-pink suit. That’s when pink started being my color. I gravitate towards pink, and it really symbolizes my life, I feel like. Pink is such a bright color, and it鈥檚 kind of like yellow in that it鈥檚 very positive. I always try to be positive in my life, just because I know that it鈥檚 just a really great opportunity to be alive. I try not to take it for granted. I still have down days, but I try to always stay uplifted and surround myself with people who can help me, or I feel good around, or that I can even help. I鈥檝e always enjoyed that.听
‘Stay Sensational’ is kind of my catchphrase. It actually came from a dentist鈥檚 appointment. I was at the dentist, and they were going inside my mouth, as per usual, and they were injecting me with this numbing thing so I wouldn鈥檛 be in pain as they were operating. And they told me, 鈥淵ou鈥檒l start to feel some sensation in your gums.鈥� and when they said that, I remember looking into the bright light hanging over my head and saying, 鈥渟ensational鈥�. It just came to my mind. And it鈥檚 a word I’d heard before, but I had never said it. It’s just a great word, because I feel that I’m such an over-the-top person鈥攁nd when you say sensational, it throws people off for a second. Because they鈥檙e like, what does that really mean? And then when they grasp it, it’s something that鈥檚 really good, really brilliant, really beautiful. And I really try to spread that. And instead of telling people to be听sensational,听I听rather tell听them to stay sensational. Because I think everyone is听really unique, and there鈥檚 something special in everyone. And I’m just affirming it for them. Stay sensational. Do what you鈥檙e already doing.听
I literally thrive off of life from others. I’m a very heavy extrovert, and I know a lot of times, it can feel like it鈥檚 exaggerated, or very flamboyant; very overdone, over-the-top. But it鈥檚 really like鈥攊t’s weird, like energy鈥檚 really contagious to me, but that鈥檚 really a genuine part of me. One that I question a lot, actually, because people might ask me: ‘why are you happy all the time?’ And I didn鈥檛 realize it back then, but the answer is that I’m not always happy, but I get happy around people. It鈥檚 so amazing for me, and it feels really good. And it鈥檚 not that I can鈥檛 be serious, because I can, and I can be passionate. It鈥檚 not always childish joy. It’s a joy that can be contained. I鈥檓 the person to come to if you ever need an optimistic friend. But not a friend that鈥檚 just going to inflate your head with these things that are probably not realistic. More like a realistic, optimistic friend. That’s who I am. That’s what people can find in me.”
