Isabella (Belle) Simmons is a senior at Brunswick High School (BHS). She is a major spirit of kindness and artistry in the BHS setting. Those who have connected with her before describe her as friendly, comedic, and caring. Simmons has displayed many talents that can be recalled such as drawing, guitar, and singing.
Academically, Simmons is building a path for herself to become a nurse. She strives to use her compassion and empathy as well as good qualities she’s seen in others to drive her ambition of representing future nurses under a positive light. She finds inspiration in recalling her favorite nurses from her childhood.
“The highlight of my school year would probably be taking my prerequisite classes,” Simmons said. “I’ve taken four FCC classes just this year to get ahead in community college because, yeah, I want to be a nurse.”
Outside of school, Simmons has found the most joy this year in situations where she can connect and spend quality time with others in settings that bring her peace.
“In general, I’ve loved going to church; I’ve loved going to youth group,” Simmons said. “I love spending time with friends.”
Besides her soft and kind nature, she is an ambitious adventurer and has goals to see the world around her. She may have high academic standards for herself but she looks towards the things she can experience in life outside of working. Simmons also aims to be a better version of herself every day so she looks forward to the things she can do to better her well-being. She works hard not to compete with others but she describes it as a competition with herself.
“I want to be able to go on road trips,” Simmons said. “Either with my friends or just by myself. I also want to start working out. I used to do sports in the past but I never liked the feeling of competing with others but rather competing with myself. Well, since I stopped, I lack a lot of energy so now I want to start working out again so I can have more energy and build more muscle. Yeah, […] I just want to be happy.”
Aside from her goals to become a nurse, Simmons has been defined by art since the day she was born. A more newly found skill in her life, Simmons has been excelling in her guitar playing skills and is even beginning to create her own music. She is mostly given credit for her visual art skills because for the longest time, Simmons has been seen drawing and using many different design techniques over the years that often catch her peers eyes.
“It is a big part of my life: I love music,” Simmons said. “I play the guitar, I sing, and I especially love visual art. I draw and I’ve even painted. I just love art all around. I grew up with art throughout my life and artistic family members whether it’s my parents or grandparents. I’ve noticed that in some way, shape, or form all my family members have a connection to music. It’s been a big part of my childhood. It brings me comfort.”
Simmons is clearly someone who enjoys being the best version of herself for her own good. But she also really cares about how she treats others and the impact she puts on them. As of last year, she took on the job of a babysitter for a fitness establishment. Many of the children there find happiness interacting with her and even look up to her. In regards to her artistic abilities, the children she babysits frequently ask her for drawings of themselves or their family members
Behind the “Belle” that BHS is familiar with, is the very things that keep her going each day. She gives credit to her friends and family to help her stay strong and the very goals that she’s working towards. She also has her faith to fall back on.
“Not everything is set in stone but I know that God is there for me and I know there is so much in life that is there to offer and you know, to experience,” Simmons said.
Isabella Simmons is someone many people have the pleasure of getting to know because not only is she an entertaining person, but someone who offers many special life lessons. Her close friends often feel guided by her down-to-earth understanding of others which is driven by her empathy.
“My general message to other is to just, you know, be yourself,” Simmons said. “But like, don’t be cruel, obviously but always be the best version of yourself. Love people. If you find it hard to reconcile with people, forgiveness will honestly bring you so much peace. And forgiveness does not mean accepting how terribly people treat you but acknowledging that what happened really sucked. But for me, at least, I want to forgive because that leads me to peace and I don’t want to fall into hatred. There’s so much hate and cruelty in the world. Don’t be part of it. Everybody, let’s be kumbaya, please.”
