My favorite thing to do in my free time: dance. What I wanted to be when I grow up: dance teacher. What I was thinking about: dance. The answers were always the same growing up. I loved to dance. I always have, and I always will. However, I still had quite a few weaknesses in my dance ability, so when I decided I wanted to try out for the high school poms team, I knew it would be tough. It was a turning point because I would be part of a team in the bumpy high school years, I had to do doing lots of training, and I knew eventually my dance skills would improve tremendously.
It was a Tuesday in 7th grade at my dance class, also known as my favorite place, when it happened. I was sitting down with my legs in a pike position, my head rested gently on my knees, my fingers clasped around my pointed toes when I heard my upperclassman friend, Kayla, complaining about how sore she was.
“Why?” I asked her. I had thought it was peculiar she was so sore when our last dance class was over a week ago. Also, she was just sitting there in her middle splits with a bored expression on her face that reminded me of the face I make when I watch golf. Clearly her version of sore must be different than mine, I thought, with a hint of jealously in my voice.

She replied, “Poms tryouts are this week so I’ve been dancing and practicing like crazy. Poms is the dance team at the high school.” That is when it hit me. I had finally figured out what I wanted to do in high school: dance!
It seemed as though the only advice I would get going into high school was to “get involved”. But nothing really caught my attention. I was worried about going into high school as a freshman, with absolutely no idea what activity I was going to get involved in. It seemed as though even in middle school everyone knew exactly what their plans were for high school. And there I was, feeling like an outcast because my future was undetermined. I was anxious and jittery about being the in halls at South and barely knowing anyone and not having a single person to talk to. But once I heard about the poms team, I knew I had finally found my activity to get involved in, and that was a major turning point. I knew that if I made it, I would get to know lots of new people and make lots of new friends. So I got a lot of information on poms and attended as many clinics and camps as possible. I was already “getting involved” and I wasn’t even in high school yet.
I knew well enough that just doing some poms camps wasn’t going to guarantee me a spot on the team. I had to do some individual training at home. I began stretching everyday for at least half an hour. I also started running outside for ten minutes every day, which was definitely my least favorite part about my new workout routine. Running was never my strongest point. My mom always laughed at me when I would walk around the house doing lunges and squats everywhere. People called me crazy and obsessive, but the results were stupendous. However, it was a long journey getting to positive results. It took months. I’ll never forget the time I was about to give up completely. I was outside running, sweat dripping down my face, when I was abruptly overcome with the feeling that what I was doing was pointless. All this exercise and exhaustion just to be on a dance team? I was panting obnoxiously loud, and I suddenly felt embarrassed and stupid. But then I thought about what would result from all this humiliation. I pictured me jogging, for fun, without sweating bullets. I thought about what it would be like, what it would feel like, to perform a dance without feeling like I need to take a nap immediately after. I decided to keep going and shove through the negative thoughts that were pushing me down. I was now more motivated than ever. Soon enough, I was actually in shape for once in my life. I had also never been so flexible. Running one lap around that steamy hot track used to be my worst nightmare, but soon it just became my warm up. I went from only being able to touch my toes to being able to do the splits. I soon felt bendy as an eraser and more fit than I had ever been before. I was healthier, and happier. I was thrilled that I had set my mind to do something and actually accomplished it. I felt more certain that I was going to make the team, which made me ecstatic.
Even though I was improving already so much on my own, I knew I still needed some guidance and feedback from a professional. So as a result of my decision to be on poms, I took private classes at my dance studio with my dance teacher, driven to help prepare. My dance teacher’s name was Miss Stacy. She was very thin and very tall, a dancer’s dream body, and one the prettiest girls I have ever met. She had hair like silk that hung just below her shoulders. I looked up to her in so many different ways. She had this amazing grace and elegance to her dancing I had always wished I could have. Her passion and love of dance always came out in her dancing. She molded me into the dancer I am today by teaching me all the basics to dance, and fixing my many bad habits. I was having trouble particularly with my center leaps. I was good at getting lots of height and having straight legs; however, I would point one toe and flex the other. It was an atrocious habit, but when I tried to point both my toes I wouldn’t get high enough and my legs would be bent. Miss Stacy helped me fix that issue. She told me that if I plie more before I jumped, my center leaps would be much improved. Not to my surprise, she was right. Because of all her beneficial tips, I have become a better dancer.
Overall, the decision to try out for poms was a massive turning point in my life because it resulted in an activity to be part of in high school, a more overall healthier and confident self, and a major increase in dance ability. Being more confident in me and in my dancing has changed my life. I have grown a lot in my dancing in these past couple of years. I am now more content and at ease compared to when I had lower self esteem. I am very proud of my accomplishments I have made since then now that I’m captain of the JV poms team. I have become a more determined person in the way that I strive for my goals in my everyday life. Being part of my phenomenal poms team has been some of the greatest experiences of my life that I will never forget. It’s funny to think none of them would have happened if I hadn’t made that split second decision to try out for poms on that Tuesday night way back when.