After today’s class, I was left with a lasting impression from one of my favorite guest artists so far. Amanda Hick, an opera singer and teacher, displayed to the class what it means to be truly passionate about the work and forms of artistic expression that you enjoy. The first aspect of her visit that I enjoyed was that she explained to us the history of opera and how it came to be such an expressive form of art. These explanations were very in depth and even included numerous videos displaying the singing in action. I realized that the pitch and delivery of opera can affect how it makes the listener feel. Next, Amanda began to talk about her personal life and how she sees art. She explained that from an early age, classical music and opera had always interested her. After her mother began to push her to further her practice, she started to realize the true power of it. One thing that I took with me after the zoom meeting was how Amanda said that even though a form of art you enjoy may be dwindling in popularity, it shouldn’t stop you from taking part in it. Similar to the other guest artist Jenny West, she also emphasized how it is important to also have a day job to support you and allow you to create art even more. Furthermore, She even created her own opera company, and I remember how she described her career in art as being a very long process that requires the support of others in order to become successful. Additionally, she was very open to questions and answered any that were asked with enthusiasm. This made the topic much more interesting and approachable. Clearly, Amanda Hick was a very influential guest artist that used history and her personal experiences to illuminate opera and art as a whole.