My Passion--Shayne

It was a muggy afternoon on August 18, 2012. It was my first dance audition on a new team and studio that just opened. Before I auditioned, people told me I would be the next project. I didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or not. Along with this being my first year came a lot of consequences. Even though I made the team, ahead of me was a lot of hard work I had to put in. When I first started dancing I was only 12 years old which is late in the game for a lot of kids. I put my heart and soul into the art of dance to become better than I was the day before to make up for the time I didn't get to train. My first year of dancing at a new studio, I got the award for most improved at my banquet which kept me on the road to work even harder. My second year of being at my studio was definitely not the easiest. I started getting moved up to more advanced classes which led to higher expectations for myself. Ever since then I was never a person that wanted to let anybody down and I pushed my body to its limits to do whatever I could do and more. Every week I would take fitness classes to gain muscle, the regular 13 hours a week of dance training, and workout sessions at the gym. Before I knew it, all the training I did paid off. I was winning in competitions and at my second banquet I won teen dancer of the year which made me the happiest person alive. This was because I knew the teachers saw how hard I worked to be a better dancer. After that year, I started to go downhill. My third year felt like I was alone in a dark alley. I started dancing with a new group of dancers at my studio that were also very well trained. I went home crying every night because I felt like the teachers didn't like me because I did something wrong. Or, when they told me a critique in front of the class I always felt like I was publicly humiliated and always took it to heart as a negative response about the way I dance. This not only affected me in the studio but onstage as well. My confidence and self esteem was never there when I came onstage. I would always fall out of my turns which affected my technique score at competition. One thing led to another and I never placed in the overalls. At that point in time I was ready to quit dancing. I felt like it was never my passion anymore and if I wasn't able to go on stage and perform then how could I be a backup dancer for one of my favorite celebrities. Everyday I would walk in the studio to train I never wanted to be there and nervous that I would breakdown in front of the class. Until one day, I learned a new solo routine. One of my mentors,that I thought didn't like me, taught me this solo because I never felt comfortable in my last one. This routine made me feel alive and I danced liked I could never dance again. My point of the story is that every time you hit a obstacle in your life doesn't mean that you should give up. Especially if it is something you have passion for. No matter what gets in your way you should always push through it. These events helped me to not take what I love for granted and that is what I did. These events led up to the person I became today, to be a person that works and fights for what I love to do.