What is your passion? What motivates you? What drives you? Mine is acting. Its the air I breathe. Its my life.When I was seventeen my mother pulled me into her room and introduced me to my future. My eyes stared at the television showing an interview with Sidney Poitier, while my mind, heart, and soul lost sight of any doubt surrounding my calling. I had been studying acting for two years, and in that moment realized that I would be a student of the craft for the rest of my life. Mr. Sidney Poitier's life demonstrated to me a career that transcends monetary and egotistical value. He demonstrated a lifestyle that can cause change. From a heartfelt letter to him, to a phone call from the man himself to me, I began my endeavor to become an extremely influential and successful actor. I became complete, for I realized my reason for living. To me, acting is a tool. It is a vessel, a platform. It will benefit not only my life, but also the lives of many. Fame will be my vessel to spread God's love and positivity to the world. So, I was presented with an opportunity. An opportunity to become what, in my eyes, Mr. Poitier is...Excellence Personified. Hopefully, my personal outreach will touch someone's life. And I pray that I can be so fortunate as to have a body of work that instills hope, laughter, and love. Mr. Poitier is someone in my life I can never thank enough. He has mentored me through the years with priceless advice, and he has mentored me through his own unbelievably respectable career choices. "SHANI PRIDE IS A VERY GOOD YOUNG ACTRESS WHO HAS AN ENGAGING QUALITY TO HER WORK. I THINK, FOR HER, A PROMISING FUTURE LIES AHEAD" --Sidney Poitier--
