Growing up as a Competitive Dancer

I was not the little girl who played soccer, basketball and volleyball. I was the little girl who went to ballet, tap and jazz class. And although all of my friends did not go to my school, it ended up being the best of both worlds.

I started dancing when I was 6 years old and my parents could not keep me away from wanting to be at the dance studio. Even when I was home, I was dancing in my living room and most likely stressing my mom out.

After my first year of dancing I decided to try out for the competition team. I ended up making the team and was unsure of what I was getting into. I think my parents were more though...

Once I was officially on the team the requirements went up. There were many classes that I was required to attend and would get into trouble if I missed. This is similar to other sports.

As I got older things got even more strict. In middle school, I would go to school from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and then after school I went straight to dance and stayed there until 9 p.m. This was a hard schedule to follow as a middle schooler because I had no time to do my homework or even hang out with my friends. There were certain weekends that we would even have practice on Saturdays.

The commitment to competitive dance was hard but it was worth it for me at the time. But as I continued to get older and I was finally a freshman in high I had lost my passion for dance. I wanted to get involved with my high school and hang out with my friends. I was tired of all of the hard work, commitment and not having a social life. I decided to cut back on my commitment to competitive dancing and I enjoyed it for a year, but quickly was right back where I was. It was like I had never left.

Dancing competitively is a great sport for children to get into. Although I didn't choose to pursue competitive dance as my career, I still miss this sport more than I would've ever thought. Dancing was a way that I expressed my emotions. It was my safe place and I think that is what I miss the most about it.

#dance #competitivedance