Why I Twerp — Nikki on Travel
By Nikki Ott — the one-kidneyed Twerp
I played a lot of make-believe when I was young. My best friend’s mom kept a blue Rubbermaid bin in her attic — inside a mix of funky handmade clothes she found at flea markets and her own outfits from the 60’s. We’d use the fallen tree in the backyard as a pirate ship, a war trench, a runway, a debate stage. Costumes — check. Set — check. But in all my years playing a soldier, a model, a pirate, a politician… I never found a character that fit.
My little self was lost for years looking for what was meaningful to me. High school brought such confusion in my sense of self. I divided my interests between language and performing, spending half my time in practice rooms and on stage, half my time running over hundreds of flash cards until my eyes bled. I didn’t understand people who already knew what their great passion was, whether it be a sport, chemistry or computer science. My heart felt pulled in two directions, unable to decide what the rest of my life would be centered around.
In my senior year of high school, I had the opportunity to play Fantine in the stage show Les Miserables. The show was an overwhelming success, and I received multiple awards for my performance including the accolade of Best Lead Actress in a Musical for the state of Wisconsin. I performed in front of over 2,000 people at the…
