Emmy - November 2018

Emmy’s shining face, lit up with a genuine smile, is the first thing most people encounter when they enter Deep Root Center – a welcome, which along with that grin, usually includes a little giggle, and a warm, all encompassing hug.  She is DRC’s official greeter and everyone’s biggest cheerleader.
 
Plumbing the depths of that warm, bubbly, affectionate persona, whom we all know as lovable sixteen-year-old Emmy, is a bit like mining for hidden treasure.  The twists and turns in the path are complex and the surprises are endless.  She feels everything deeply, including other’s emotions; however, within that empathy, she often adopts not only their pain, but their preferences and idiosyncrasies.  She has admitted that she likes to change things up – often, because, personally, she equates stability with stagnation.

Emmy has been a Deep Root Center member since September 2017.  She is one of the few who, when asked, “what are you interested in?” recites a list so long, I get cramps in my hand just thinking about writing them all down, and that list constantly changes.  Many who don’t know her, would probably characterize her as flighty, ditzy, or unable to follow through when they see all the side trips she navigates.  For the most part, those diversions are valid and productive; however, in some cases, she now recognizes that she quits things, simply, so that she can’t fail.  
 
Learning new languages might be classified as one of Emmy’s addictions.  She is currently taking five or six languages using an app called Duo-lingo.  Italian has always been a constant on that list mainly, because she comes from a large Italian family who love to cook, and she plans on visiting Italy someday. 
 
A highly imaginative, talented artist, Emmy, spends a great deal of her time drawing Manga-style personalities for her web-comic on an app on her phone.  Emmy loves nothing more than to delve into her character’s lives using a template entitled “big ass character sheet,” which has over 180 questions.  She can tell you silly things like what each of her characters likes to eat for snack, as well as their larger world views and perceptions.  Her scenes are written with a very defined voice, which is sharp and witty - almost sardonic. I believe she is able to produce dialogue that feels crisp and real because she knows her characters so well – some of them feel a bit auto-biographical.
 
As a creative person, she has the admirable inclination to live completely in the moment, she moves fluidly from one thing to the next, therefore, as result, projects go unfinished, and her environment tends to be messy and chaotic.  This is in evidenced in DRC’s - kitchen, art room, classroom, and chill space.  A little bit of Emmy is left behind every time she inhabits a room.

 It is an absolute gift to know and love Emmy.  She understands that she is in charge of creating her future and I have every confidence that she will embrace it, full on, with grace, humor, and a contagious smile.