Serena sits on the sofa in the basement, doing her nails, one of the things that she likes to do in her free time. Strangely, she isn’t singing as she usually does; she sings every moment of every day. Her mom, Angela, says that if she’s not singing or dancing or acting, that’s not Serena.

Serena doesn’t like her name but she wants to keep it. “It’s not a common name, that’s what I like about it.” She wants to be special, not like everyone else.

Serena began doing musical theater at the age of seven, and she loves the stage because she doesn’t think about anything else. Serena started acting in 2008 because all her siblings were doing it. ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, was her first experience. It wasn’t a big role; however, it was the best experience of her life. She participated in ‘A Christmas Carol’ every year since. This year will be her tenth and last year. While her older brother followed his love for theatre at college , she prefers to keep it just as a hobby. Like theatre, music is a big part of her life too. She says that it just makes you happy

regardless of your mood and it’s something you can relate too ,and it makes you feel that you’re not alone.

As all  teenagers do, she loves social media, but she can’t hide that it has negatives too. “On Instagram for example you see ‘Instagram models’ all being super skinny and beautiful. I feel like it makes sense of standard for women, and mostly young girls, including me”. However she believes social media is positive too. For example, you are connected with people and talk with people all around the world, as she does with her best friend from Germany.

Serena Martinez, an American and Canadian citizen, sees her future traveling to Europe picking up new recipes and owning a Greek-Spanish restaurant to bring her parents nationalities together. She’s a senior at Goffstown High School right now and she is going to Florida next year to study Hospitality Management. She wants to live all over the world, either in Washington DC, South Carolina, California, Germany, Italy, Spain or Greece.

Serena, of course, isn’t a teenager like all the others. She said that if she could have the opportunity to meet someone dead or alive it would be her grandmother. “I heard that I act like her and I  have a voice like her. She died a year before I was born, she always said she wanted my mum to have another baby, then I was born and I look just like her.” Serena said she’s very proud of herself, but she thinks there’s always room for improvement.

Her favorite quote is “Choose Happiness” because it reminds her that in every moment the most important thing to do is just smile. In 10 years she sees herself owning a successful business, hopefully married.

Serena feels pretty much like a normal teenager, but the people who live around her can easily say she has something special. Her kindness, her craziness, her sweetness and her intelligence get your heart.