SONCIREY’S STYLE

Soncirey Mitchell reveals the source of her unique style and life inspirations

Senior Soncirey Mitchell brings her original style, perspective and goals to the SHS community.

The different pins on Mitchell’s backpack are just one facet of the unique style that sets her apart from other students. Since discovering a comic store with a large selection of buttons, she began creating a display of pins on her backpack. She now adds a button to her collection every time she finds one she loves.

Mitchell’s backpack is not the only part of the style she developed for herself. She draws her fashion inspiration from the 1940’s through 1960’s, her favorite time period, and describes her clothing as very “mish-mash.” She enjoys exploring this retro style that she believes is growing increasingly popular.

“It was a time of revolution — you know, new music, new ideas — and out my love of that period came my love for some of their iconic styles,” Mitchell said.

In addition to fashion influences, Mitchell considers her life, in general, to be influenced by the author J.R.R. Tolkien. As a child, Mitchell discovered Tolkien’s story The Hobbit and found both the world and the characters intriguing. This novel changed Mitchell’s perspective on stories, as she previously found them challenging and unappealing.

“I had a lot of trouble reading, and because I felt stupid whenever I tried I really hated it. Tolkien really showed me that books weren’t all that bad, even if I struggled, and his writing made me give them a second chance,” Mitchell said.

This introduction to literature became a significant experience, as Mitchell now wants to pursue a career in writing.

“That first introduction to Tolkien really set me on my life path, and now he inspires me to write my own stories that might one day help a little kid see they should really give books another chance,” Mitchell said.

In addition to the discovery of Tolkien, she believes that growing up in the forests of Sandpoint has shaped who she is and contributed to her individuality. By living out of town and completely surrounded by nature, she developed imaginative qualities that will assist her in her creative aspirations.

“I think that being a little kid with a huge forest as your playground definitely gives you a sense of adventure and an active imagination, trying to come up with what fantastic beast was just behind the next rock or what far away land you could see if you just climbed that tree a little higher,” she said.

In regards to her future, Mitchell hopes to continue her family’s tradition of world traveling and exploring different cultures of the world. She plans to obtain a college education, majoring in creative writing with a focus in screenwriting so she can share her love of stories.

“I feel like I’m giving people a little piece of me, maybe bit of my soul, when they read my writing,” Mitchell said. “It’s a dream of mine to see some of my writing on the big screen, or maybe create the next TV show everyone’s talking about.”

Although this task is daunting, Mitchell hopes to inspire people in the same way she’s been motivated and guided by her inspirations.

“It’s a big dream, and, at times, I’m certainly intimidated by it, but maybe one day that dream won’t seem quite so far away,” she said.