“You can do this,” Carolina whispered to herself, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. At twenty-two years old, with her dark curly hair pulled back in a practical ponytail and dressed in simple jeans and a navy blue t-shirt, she looked more like a college student than a Broadway hopeful. But that’s exactly what she was—a dreamer with stars in her eyes and determination in her heart.
Just a week ago, she had been living in her childhood home in Philadelphia, trapped in the suffocating embrace of her mother’s expectations. Now, standing on this tree-lined street in the Upper West Side, Carolina felt both terrified and exhilarated by her newfound freedom.