My name is Sophie Mei Yŏu Zhì Greene. I was born in Chenzhou, Hunan, on March 1, 2003. I am a senior at Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences (SAAS). Before that, I graduated from Lake Washington Girls Middle School, where I started the Animal Rights Club. For elementary school, I went to University Child Development School.
I live with my mom, Barb, my dad, Doug, and my sister, Darby. My family and I have 3 adopted pets; two cats, Phoenix and Firestar, and one dog, Angel.
I have been learning Chinese and Spanish since I started school, and I hope to and will be trilingual one day. My Chinese name Yŏu Zhì means right (You), a mission (Zhi)–right mission–if you put them together you could say it means determined. I think this name truly does fit me.
I also have the gift of being autistic. Most people wouldn’t think of it as a gift, but I do. If I wasn’t autistic, I wouldn’t be anything like who I am today. Even though I might have challenges from my learning style, I don’t let them stop me from reaching my goals. My autism is one reason I’m so passionate about animal rights and social justice in general. I have a talent in public speaking, so I’ve written poems and songs about these topics (which makes sense because I also love and am inspired by musical theater). I also have written stories, drawn pictures, and written essays about them.
I recently started another website called Broadway on the Spectrum, www.BroadwayontheSpectrum.com, to help people on the autism spectrum and literally anyone else who has loud sound/light sensitivities feel comfortable about seeing any show on Broadway. Although Broadway is currently closed, of course, I’m doing reviews of shows I’ve seen, and will write reviews on an ongoing basis when Broadway re-opens. For each review, I include my own thoughts on the musical overall, but more specifically, I get into detail, time-stamping each time there might be a potentially triggering loud noise or lighting effect. I hope you’ll visit www.BroadwayontheSpectrum.com too!