I was skeptical, hesitant, and nervous when my school's drill team crossed
my path. I never thought I would be involved in a dance team. Me, a short and stubby clutz with
my families classic irish rowdiness, signature McGraw broad shoulders, and thick strong thighs
from growing up a construction crew kid. I didn’t exactly fit the dancer mold. To add to the ever
growing doubt, I have always identified as a tomboy, I grew up wrestling the boys and wishing I
was tall enough for contact sports. But my experience with the Drill Team has taught me things I
will carry forever, and it is something I will always be grateful for. When I leave these halls,
there are memories I will never let go of. Joining a club or sport in high school is the absolute
best thing anyone could do, I would encourage every student to do as much as possible.
One of the benefits I got from the dance team was my motivation to keep my grades in
check. You are not allowed to compete with failing grades? and not only did I want to compete, I
refused to let my teammates down. My coach always stressed that our academics were just as
important as dance and that there would be no exceptions. She was constantly encouraging us to
talk to our teachers and see tutors if we needed too. We even set up a Drill Team study group at
one point. On more than one occasion throughout my high school career things got hard to
manage, I was crumbling under the stress of a full time job and growing up too fast. I seriously
considered dropping out and getting a GED, wondering why I was putting myself through so
much. It would have been so much easier, so much less stress to just stop coming. But if I did
that I couldn’t be a part of the team. My love for dance and my teammates was stronger then my
doubts. My team wasn’t something I was willing to give up and so here I am. Drill team is the
reason I will walk out of all this with a diploma. Being on the team was the only thing that kept
me in class and on track.

Another thing I’ve taken from Drill Team was some great life skills. Drill isn’t like other
sports, we don’t have an off season. It’s a year round effort. 6 am practices, saturday practices,
holiday practices, and summer practices. Icy hot and Ibuprofen are your new best friends, and get
used to waking up before the sun does. We strive to always perform our best and sacrifice a lot
of our time in order to do so. Day in and day out the routines are perfected. I couldn’t count how
many times I’ve heard “Run it one more time.”(It’s always a lie). But it has taught me discipline
and responsibility. I learned very quickly three years ago that no one was going to wake me up
and get me to practice, that was a decision I would have to make. You learn that even if you
can’t do it for you, you have to do it for team. Everyone is depending on you, and there’s nothing
more rewarding than the awe in your team mates eyes when you walk onto the state floor. The
same concept applies to everything we do, whether it be work or school or social life, no one is
going to make you do it. It’s a decision you and you alone are responsible for.

The last and most cherished thing that drill team gave me was the ability to embrace my
femininity and bring my self esteem to an all time high. It released me from any chains of doubt
clouding my confidence. Like I said, I’m a tomboy. I played in the mud not with barbies, I
played football not tea parties, and I always took shop not sewing. Whether me or others
assigned the label, I have always been the girl who's one of the guys. Those things are a part of
who I am, but for a long time I let them define me. I had always associated being feminine with
being weak, and so I didn’t feel comfortable embracing that side of myself. Drill
team helped me understand and accept the feminine part of me, and be just as proud of it as I am
of my wrench collection. I was able to understand that my interests don’t define me as a person,
and I won't ever have to pick either or, they are just all the pieces that make up Sidnie. I don’t
think I would have come near as far as I am in terms of self awareness without the team. The
opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and force myself to develop and area I never had
before has been amazing, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Socrates said “It is a shame for a
woman to grow old without ever seeing the strength and beauty of which her body is capable of.”
Even though I don’t plan on continuing my dance career after high school, for a short while I
was able to fully grasp and execute everything I am capable of. I truly feel I have reached my full
potential through the drill team.

So yes, it is just a High School dance team. But is it ever just a High School anything?
People argue what you do in high school isn’t real, or that it doesn't impact your life once you
graduate but I don’t think that's true. I think even though High School is a small part of our lives,
it's a very important part because helps us see and realize what we can do before the stress of the
world comes crashing down, cause let me tell ya, it’s hard. Bills and cars and jobs are hard. You
should never allow those things to limit you, but it’s a lot easier to spend time pursuing your
passions and dreams when you’re still a kid. Being on Drill Team shaped me as a person. It got me through the hopeless nights I wanted to just be done, it taught me how to take responsibility for myself and my actions, and it showed me how to reach my full potential
in all aspects. I’m sure I will have similar experiences, but I don’t know if anything could ever
top my years as a Tiva. I don’t know if I will ever be able to fully express the support I have felt
from my team, my sisters, my family. I know that I will never be able to put into words how
much our coach Lindsey Challis has impacted my life. She is the most hard working, dedicated,
and selfless person I have ever met. She is a brilliant dance teacher, but beyond that she is a
brilliant person, I am lucky to have crossed paths with her at such a vulnerable stage in life. She
would never admit it, but she’s a phenomenal role model.

I want to encourage every student out there to try something. Take a new class, join a
club, best of all join a team. The opportunity to invest this amount of time into a hobby will
never present itself again, and man it has gone by quick. Graduating and leaving my high school
life behind is a bittersweet thing, but I am thankful I have so much to leave. It really is coming to
an end for me, I will no longer be a Tiva, but it will always be a part of me. I can’t help thinking
back and wondering how much different my life would be if I hadn’t auditioned. I never could
have predicted how much it’s shaped me and changed me. I took a chance, and coach Challis
took a chance on me, I think it’s fair to say it payed off.