I've been dancing for as long as I can remember. It has always filled my heart with the most possible joy. I found that having good dance teachers changed my experience and allowed me to have the opportunity to fall in love with dance as a whole. Without the teachers I had, I truly think that I might not be the person that I am today.

I knew I wanted to have an impact on my students the way that my teachers had an impact on me.

I started assisting and teaching dance when I was about 12 years old — a little over eight years of having students that I called mine. I wanted to be the person that my students could relate to and come to for help. I wanted to be someone that made dance fun for them. It wasn't until I really started teaching for the fourth or fifth year that I realized that I was being that teacher for my students, but they were also changing my life for the better and helping me understand myself as well as the world more clearly.

One of the biggest challenges I faced becoming a dance teacher was the idea of patience. I was teaching children that could barely even walk or talk and having to make sure that they had a good experience. I dealt with many children who had tears in their eyes because they had to leave their parents, but somehow I had this almost magical touch that stopped them from crying when I held them. I seemed to have this natural ability to calm children down and show them that being in class was a fun experience. I always had some children that were problematic in some ways, but teaching them really showed me that if I spoke calmly and used a sticker rewards if they were good at the end of class, I could get them to follow the rules that I needed them to. I learned how to use a stern voice in order to show that I meant business but also to show that I wasn't too mean and cared about them all.

I learned to read people fairly well. I am still working on this, however, I can tell when someone is having an off day and need a little extra love. I learned to develop a sense for new people very quickly, which you have to learn how to do when you are only teaching some of these classes for a short number of weeks. In fact, I use this skill in my daily life, which has made me into a better person who is always making sure people are doing okay. Being a dance teacher has shown me how to love, support, and care for a large group of people at a time. I love the idea of watching these kids that I am teaching grow up and develop into beautiful souls that I have the opportunity to work with and inspire.

Teaching all different age groups has been such a large blessing in my life. Recently, having taught choreography for a high school's musical has shown me a whole different side to teaching. Most of those kids aren't heavily trained dancers. They are all going through the issues that arise in high school — and it is difficult. However, I think that it has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had in my life.

These kids have changed me for the better in so many ways.

Their optimism and openness to learning has helped make me a better person. Even if I was having a bad day, I could come into rehearsal and instantly feel a million times better. I was able to relate to them because of our closeness in age and I think that helped a lot. I was the person they could come to for help and that could be real with them and even the person that could joke around with them. I could be serious when I needed to be, but they all knew they could come to me for anything they needed and that was the most rewarding part about it.

I am so thankful for them because they showed me a whole different side to teaching. I couldn't have been more blessed. A few of the students and I got very close, and I achieved my goal of being the teacher they had that was always there for them and helped them through so much more than just dance. I have been able to develop relationships and become this person in their lives that is there for them to open up to, support them, listen to them, and give them advice and a shoulder to cry on if needed.

I have been so thankful to be a strength in their lives.

I cannot even express how thankful I am for every student that has come into my life at one point. You all have made an impact on me in so many ways and I have learned so much from all of you, even if our interaction was only for a short period of time. You have verified to me that I want to teach in some capacity and continue to change the lives of the students around me. I hope that I have made an impact on your lives or even just brightened your day at one point because I just want the best for all of you. All of my students will have a special place in my heart forever and always. I can only hope to continue to grow and develop and prosper with all of you and those to come. Thank you again for changing my life. I love you all.

Sincerely,

Miss Bailey