Dance has played a key role in shaping me into the person I am today. For the majority of my dance career, I have focused on two genres: hip-hop and clogging. While these two styles are very different in style and expression, they have both contributed equally and uniquely to my self-confidence, my self-expression, and my personality. Through hip-hop, I was able to find my voice as a dancer. I favor hip-hop because of its freedom of expression and emphasis on individuality. Hip-hop has allowed me to bring my own personality and creativity into the choreography. Hip-hop has the power to show dancers, like myself, that it is okay to stand out and to be yourself. Clogging, however, taught me the importance of tradition, discipline, and precision. Clogging is all about timing and detail. Learning how to clog showed me that patience is key. This style also has a lot of history to it, especially where I was raised. Clogging has given me a stronger appreciation and respect for the dancers who have come before me and the hard work they have put in to get the style of clogging to where it is today. While dance has changed me in many ways, my dance community is what pushed me to be my best. Within the past 8 years, I have probably tried to quit dancing about 10 times. Not because I no longer had a passion for dance, but because I had no confidence in myself. Luckily, my coach saw my potential and wouldn't let me go. I am eternally thankful for her and her love because I would be nowhere near the person I am today. My teammates are what encouraged me to push myself and give every single routine 110% of what I had to give. If I got knocked down, they were there to pick me up, and when I fell behind, they would slow down and help me catch up. My teammates have taught me that it's okay to fall and it's okay to mess up - you just have to keep trying until you get it. Throughout my 15 years of dancing, I slowly watched dance become less of a hobby and more of who I am. Without dance, I wouldn't have the confidence, patience, and determination that I have now. Even when dance gets hard, and I get frustrated, I could never imagine my life without it.

I started dancing when I was about three years old. I always loved to dance and never even considered playing other sports. Dancing was the only hobby I ever really had. By the time I reached my sophomore year of high school, I decided I wanted to try something new. I wanted to try a sport that people wouldn't expect me to play. So, I approached my school's golf coach and impulsively joined the team without realizing what I had gotten myself into. Golf was one of the first things I tried that truly frustrated me. I underestimated how hard it would be even to hit a golf ball, let alone hit it far. No matter how much I practiced or how hard I swung, I felt like I wasn't getting better. Every day at practice, I told my coach that I was quitting, but, of course, I kept coming back because I refused to be a quitter. I never considered how challenging it would be for a female to participate in a male-dominated field. While lined up in the driving range, I would see all of the boys' balls go sending over 100 yards farther than mine. These males had an advantage over me because they were stronger. I was the minority, and it killed me. I encouraged my girlfriends to join the team, and by the end of the season, we had almost as many girls as boys on the team. Other coaches were jealous and asked how we managed to get so many girls. It ultimately strengthened the team as a whole. It's been two years since the first time I swung a golf club. I'm still not as good as I thought I would be in the beginning, and I still get just as frustrated as I did when I would miss the ball ten times in a row, but I can't imagine my life without golf. Although I wanted to never return to the course every time I left practice, I continued to show up and give it my all for three seasons. Now, I'm skilled enough to play a round of golf with friends and have a good time. There's still so much I have to learn, but I enjoy the game more and more every time I play. The sport has shown me that I can stay committed to hard things. Golf has taught me patience and determination, has brought me countless good (and bad) memories, and has given me some lifelong friendships. I am so thankful I never gave up on golf.

One of my favorite gifts I received as a kid was my iPod. As soon as I set it up and had everything downloaded, the first thing I did was go to iTunes and discover new music. One song that I always had on repeat growing up was "Can't Blame a Girl for Trying," by Sabrina Carpenter. At the young age of 8, I somehow thought this was the most relatable song in existence, though I had never even liked a boy, let alone date one. Years later, I was watching Disney Channel when I realized the girl on the screen was the same girl I loved to listen to on my iPod. I was immediately fascinated with how much her appearance and voice had changed. I decided to listen to her newer music and instantly remembered why I had once loved her so much. To this day, I love listening to Sabrina Carpenter on the daily and seeing the beautiful, talented woman she is becoming. Although she has no idea who I am, I feel like we grew up together in a way. As I am finding who I am and who I want to be, she is doing the same thing. She inspires me, and many other girls, to confidently be myself. Sabrina is almost like a real life "Barbie." Not because she's pretty and blonde, but because she has proven that you can truly be whatever you want to be. Sabrina is a dancer, singer, actress, songwriter, and even has her own line of perfumes. Her career and life in the spotlight continues to inspire me to reach for my dreams and to never settle. Whenever I need motivation, I know I can use her career as a reminder that I too can be whoever I want to be.