Kelsey Swain is a 16 year old sophomore at West Brunswick and is starting her first semester in journalism. Swain has lived in the same home her whole life here in Brunswick County. She loves the quiet of the area and the convenience of being able to walk to visit friends and family.
“Brunswick County is just so quiet,” Swain said. “Where I live if four cars go by my house, it’s a busy day. There’s just something peaceful about it. Laying in the hammock outside and just listening to nature. It’s so calming and peaceful.”
Outside of school Swain loves to dance. She has been dancing for 13 years and has learned many valuable things like persisting even when things are hard. She recently earned a lead role in a major dance performance. She also loves to read and write. She even has a novel in the works. Her favorite genres are thriller and graphic novels.
“Dance is freeing,” Swain said. “Sometimes the world gets a little too much and I just need to escape. When I dance it feels like I’m in a different world, all my worries just go away. It’s great, it’s sweet, it’s my life and it’s beautiful.”
Her favorite place is the mountains. She visits every year to see the beautiful views, fishing, and visiting the many rivers. She loves the feeling and the smells of being outdoors in the mountains.
“The smell of the great smoking mountains is great,” Swain said.”It’s a great place to go and look at the trees, especially in the fall. The rivers are really cold but it’s fun it jump on rocks and see where they take you. The adventure feeling the mountains give me, is just a great feeling.”
She plans to attend Brunswick Community College to get her two year degree and then pursue a future in dance. Swain isn’t sure if she would like to be a professional dancer or open her own dance studio.
“Dance has always been there for me,” Swain said. “I want to teach kids the same great feeling it has given me. The freedom, the music taking control of your body, and just being you without a care in the world. To learn to be you, even if others think differently. I want kids to feel like them, feel loved when they don’t have anyone there for them.”
Swain signed up for journalism for the opportunity to improve her writing and to learn more about photography and the various other aspects of journalism.
“I really joined this class to try and get my writing up to the next level,” Swain said. “During Covid-19 I found out that I really liked to write. I have always had a very creative mind, that one day I just decided to put all my creativity onto a piece of paper. I guess that’s how you try new things. You just try and see.”
