Dance. The definition is simple. Dance is to move rhythmically to music. But to me, dancing is so much more than that. Dance provides an escape from the troubles of reality. Such as a heavy workload of homework to complete, the obstacle of fitting in at school, relationship problems, and much more from my everyday life. Even when I’d come into the studio crying from my parents fighting, my demeanor changed quickly. I’ve struggled with my parents fighting since I was little. But once I start dancing, my smile reappears. No matter what was going on in the outside world, dance was my safe space. Dance helped me cope with my problems. For example, I suppress depression and anxiety by dancing. Dancing gets me out of unhealthy mindsets and makes me feel free. When I’m feeling anxious or sad, dancing pulls me out of the darkness. Dancing makes me feel extremely exhilarated and free. Dancing also benefits my mental health when it comes to dealing with loss. For example, I lost both of my very close grandparents in a car accident. They died when I was young. After that occurred, dance became a bigger influence on my life. It helped take away the sadness I didn’t know how to deal with at such a young age. My Grandma and Grandpa had major roles in my everyday life. I didn’t know how to handle the holes in my heart where they had been. Dance showed me the way, and gave me a path to becoming the happy, intelligent, dedicated woman I am today. Weekly dance classes gave me something to look forward to when everything else in my life was chaotic and scary. Over time, dance class became my favorite time of the week. Even now as I’m graduating, dance class is still my favorite part of the week. Dance allowed me to express myself. When I couldn’t say what I was feeling with words, I’d dance. Dancing became therapeutic. Whenever I was feeling overwhelmed or stressed, dance was the solution. Dance classes relieved my stress and anxiety that had built up over time. Instead of completing chores, my mother would catch me on the puppy cam dancing in the bathroom after school. Whether I was dancing during weekly classes, in my bedroom, in study hall, or even in the bathroom. Dance creates a feeling in me that nothing else has been able to. When dancing, I am happy. Even if the outside world is stressful, wherever I am dancing, there is peace. Dance has become a major component in my life. It is my forever home. Dance is always there for me. It is my strong support system, in the struggles I face every day. Dance is part of who I am.

As I’ve grown up, I have spent many hours in my parent’s classrooms. The idea of becoming a teacher always excited me. I’ve come in to help my Mom reorganize her classroom for the end of the year and to help teach in her 5th-grade class. I have always found it fun and interesting to shadow my parents in their careers as teachers, I soon realized teaching is what I want to do in life. Every day, I can’t wait to hear the stories of their students when they come home from school. One of the things I’ve learned from my parents is to always be kind. Students may act badly and cause trouble, but you never know what their life is like at home. They may be struggling with parents who are going through divorce, drugs, or custody issues. They may not even go home to a warm meal every night. Therefore you must always be kind. My Mother has taught me that school should be a safe place. When kids are afraid to go home, school becomes a happy place for them. They look forward to it. I intend to inspire the youth in my career. I will make every day of school fun. Even if there’s a test, you can always do a little something to brighten up their days. I will be understanding. Even when children misbehave, you can still make their day better. As a Christian, we are taught to live like Jesus. Jesus loves everyone and forgives them, and shared God’s love by doing so. As I become a teacher, I will become more forgiving and understanding to try to live more like Jesus. By being a support in my students’ lives, and understanding where they are coming from, I can inspire them to learn and perform to the best of their abilities. With the support and love I give them, my students will feel as if they can do whatever they put their minds to. By obtaining this confidence, my students will be more invested in their learning and inspired to do the very best they can. As I go through the process of becoming a teacher, I will work hard to have school be the light in the darkness of my students’ lives. I cannot wait for the day I am inspiring bright young minds.

Dedication. A word I’ve heard from many people in my life. I received the dedication award for my soccer team, because of my work on and off the field. I also received the 2023 Dancer of the Year award, where the characteristics are promise, dedication, behavior, and work ethic. None of my accomplishments would have been possible without my dedication to better myself as a person, athlete, and dancer. My future plans are to double major in Dance and Education in college, with a minor in business. I want to get my PhD. in Dance to teach as a college professor. I know that seems difficult but I am ready for the challenge. I also want to run my own dancing studio to teach young minds the love of dance. I have assisted classes as I have grown up, and loved working with kids. With every hour I spend at the dance studio, I fall more and more in love with the sport and the atmosphere. In an attempt to achieve my dreams, the past two years I have woken up early before school to practice to improve my dancing skills. My improvements were so noticeable, I achieved the coveted dancer of the year award. My junior year I realized how much I really loved dancing. Not only the components but the way it helped me escape hard times and express myself. Within my high school years, I have broken my left leg and sprained my left ankle. Because of this, I have been setback in my dancing career. Yet, I have kept working, waking up at 4:40 to practice before school, practicing after school, and then going to six hours of dance classes a week. However, physicality is not the only major component of dancing. The other major component is knowledge and mental ability. This is why I spend hours each week researching, and reading. I have read books about the muscles that allow dancers to do what they do, and how these muscles work. I have read ballet dictionaries, and informational texts about the tap and ballet genres. Any chance I get, I read. And I continue to read to further my knowledge, my physicality might be behind because of my injuries, but I will work hard to make sure my knowledge makes up for it. In order to accomplish these dreams, I had to work to keep my grades up. Whether it was coming in to get help in study hall for math homework or test corrections, I did my best to maintain my grades, while chasing after my dreams. With all of my efforts, I have managed to be accepted and inducted into the National Honor Society, and have been on the High honor roll my entire high school career. I am inspired to persevere because of how much my family has supported my dreams, and how proud I want to make my family that is no longer with me, who are watching me from heaven.

One of the things I am constantly being recognized for is dedication. My dedication to my family, my passions, the people around me, and my community. My little brothers have attended all of my events as they were growing up, and that is why whenever they have a function I do my best to be there. Whether they wanted to or not, they sat through my soccer and softball games, dance competitions and recitals, National Honor Society events, they have even sat in the back of a classroom while I ran science club meetings. Their support is why I do everything in my power to make their days better, even if it’s just helping them with their homework or chores. My service to my brothers is little compared to how much they have done for me. My parents are teachers, which means they work a ton, and yet we still struggle to afford things. Even then, they always try to make the most of every situation and do what they can do to make their kids happy. Because of that, I work my hardest to help around the house with what I can. Whether it’s doing the dishes before school, or simply listening about their day after they’ve had a tough one, I try to return the kindness and selflessness they show me. My community supports me and my passions tremendously. When my soccer team won the state championship, we were welcomed home to numerous gifts and celebrations. We had goodies and gifts for us as we made the journey to states, and parades as we came home. The church community is also a major part of my life. I attend church every Sunday, help teach Sunday school classes, feed the community through food pantries, spaghetti dinners and chicken barbecues. I became closer with my church community when I went through the confirmation process. I spent more and more time with the elderly, and visited many home-bound church members. Seeing the smiles on people’s faces when I showed them kindness made the service so enjoyable. As it is stated in the Bible, we must put others before ourselves in order to live like Jesus, that is why community service is beneficial for my mind and soul. My teammates are extremely important to me. We share the same passion. I have been dancing, and playing soccer and softball for 14 years, and the friendships I have made along the way have not only made me a better person, but a better athlete. My teammates are constantly pushing me to succeed, and cheering me on along the way. I owe them so much. That is why my service to them is so important. For instance, I will run with the teammate that is behind and struggling to help them finish. I am constantly giving my teammates advice on how to improve, while raising their confidence in the process. Just like they do for me, we all work together to develop into the athletes we want to be, and who we are working towards becoming. All of these people in my life make me feel loved and valued. That is why it is so essential for me to return the favor.