Only for the Tutu | Teen Ink

Only for the Tutu

August 25, 2011
By moonshoescarly SILVER, Fontana, California
moonshoescarly SILVER, Fontana, California
5 articles 2 photos 8 comments

I only did it for the tutu. One day I was asking my mom for a ballet costume and the next day I found myself stumbling around a mirrored room next to my ever-so-graceful twin sister. For the next six weeks I struggled through the ballet class, and I ultimately hung up my tutu for good. It took many situations like this- where I tried and stuck with it no matter how humiliating- to find my niche. Whether it was ballet or a challenging AP class, my Mom encouraged me to dedicate all of myself to meet the challenge. The simple fact that my mom allowed me to try as long as I never gave up inspired my decision to pursue a teaching career, and encouraged my passion for theatre.
My mom let me join clubs and run for offices because she raised me to always have the attitude of “at least I tried.” Because my mom grew up in a broken family she didn’t get to do much of anything that required stability and dedication, so the idea that I should do everything my mom couldn’t do influenced my hard work as a Link Crew (a freshman mentoring program) commissioner, Yearbook editor-in-chief, theatre technician, and co-teacher.
The years I spent in yearbook were when I learned how to start from the bottom and work upward. I started as a writer, then an assistant editor, until I became editor-in-chief. Yearbook is about working hard to satisfy people other than you, which is what my adviser calls servant leadership. My love of yearbook and servant leadership helped reinforce my faith that I can lead a group and someday lead a classroom.
The same year that I applied for yearbook, I happened to fill in for someone as a sound board operator for the fall play. With my mom’s permission, I joined the group officially and went on to work on over 10 shows. I started off for a year and a half as a volunteer, and in my senior year I became one of two “head techies” for the department. My participation in technical theatre has continued me on the path of servant leadership (as I lead my tech class in assisting the actors), and it shaped my current and future hobby: to always be involved in theatre.
Most recently, my mom persuaded me to take a full schedule of classes, so I signed on to co-teach a sophomore level Honors English class. There I have solidified my decision to become a teacher, and there I have cast away all of my self-doubt. There is nothing more satisfying to me than seeing fellow students improve knowing I’ve had some hand in it. Because my mom raised me to be dedicated, I am confident that I will never let a future student down.
The world I come from is the world where trying will always be worth it, especially if trying benefits someone else too. It is one where if I have made mama proud I have achieved greatness. Because that value of dedication was instilled in me I am sure that I will become a teacher and a part of the theatre community. And this time, I won’t only be doing it for the tutu.


The author's comments:
This is the personal statement I submitted to Azusa Pacific University, where I will be studying Liberal Arts. This essay also won me a Ronald McDonald House Charities Scholarship of $2000. It is about my mom's influence on my life and schooling.

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