Dance has been a constant in my life the past 17 years. Some argue whether this activity is a sport or an art, but as a participant, I find it to be both. It is something that takes agility and strength, but grace and fluidity as well. It’s a great form of expression and has often been my escape growing up. It has helped me to become who I am with the lessons I have learned and people I have met throughout the process. Here I have one of my dance shoes…although it definitely doesn’t smell or look the greatest, it is a representation of what I love to do.

Dance has taught me discipline and that not everything comes easily…I must work extremely hard to obtain what I want. It has shown me perseverance, as a lot of the time, the outcome was not what I had wanted. Audition after audition…I had to learn how to push through the disappointment and to not be down about myself, but to work for the possibilities in the future. Lastly, it has helped me with my inner struggle with confidence. I am very outgoing and zealous, and I often exude this confidence to people that I actually don’t really have. My inner struggle with confidence was not only restricted to dance auditions and shows but in my daily life as well. My anxiety wasn’t strong enough to hold me back from auditioning but often held me back from being chosen as I froze and looked extremely nervous. This was extremely frustrating for me and my dance teachers as well. I knew I could do it, but for some reason, I didn’t. I was apprehensive about the auditions for the dance team here because I thought the pattern would never stop. Luckily, I must have done well that day and I am really proud to say I dance for our school. My confidence will always be something that I’ll struggle with, but it has most certainly progressed, thanks to the help of dance.

Performing and being in front of a crowd gives me this unexplainable thrill. When I was younger, I loved being the center of attention, putting on shows for my family. I had various talk shows that featured only me myself and I and the amount of blackmail my family has for me is endless. My whole life I wanted to be a teacher, but then I wasn’t sure if that was what I was meant to do or if I was just following in my mom’s footsteps. I never thought I could actually turn my crazy childhood antics into a somewhat of a career choice. I am now a communications major with a focus in broadcasting, and I hope to one day be a newscaster or to have my own talk show. Although the uncertainty in this type of profession can make me extremely anxious, I am very excited to see what the future holds.