I can barely remember the first day I started dance class. I remember sliding on my ballet slippers and complaining about how the pink strings were too tight on my feet. I remember my mom picking me up and telling me how much fun I was going to have. I was only three years old when my mother enrolled me in ballet at Norridge Park. I was so little that the details are pretty blurry. However, I do remember my first dance recital. I had been in a yellow dress with black polka dots and red trim. I adored that costume so much so that I would just wear it around my house to show my family how “cute” I looked. I remember being walked out in my favorite yellow dress onto the stage. There were so many people but the lights were dark so it was much easier to not be scared. At this age, dancing was literally just standing on the stage and waving to my mom and dad. I was standing there waving when I heard something to the right of me. My very best friend, Elizabeth had been crying. I remember being so confused to why she was crying. We were supposed to be standing there and waving, not crying. It made me so sad and I knew I had to do something to help her out; this was our shining moment! I grabbed her hand hoping that it would console her. She looked at me and kept crying and I didn’t know what to do. It must have been an instinct because what I did next was definitely not part of the dance. I kept my one hand holding her then began to try and wipe the tears off of her face. I knew that she needed someone to help her or do something. I continued to wipe her tears until the song came to a conclusion. Still hand in hand, we walked offstage waving to the crowd of people before us. After the recital, my mom took me out for food. I was given tons of flowers. I got some from my grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, and my parents. I felt like a movie star for just standing on that stage waving and consoling my friend.

As time passed, I didn’t go one year without dance. I quickly grew out of ballet and wanted something more fast and fun than just plies and piques. Although ballet was absolutely beautiful with clean lines, I wanted more energy and sass. Soon, I enrolled in a jazz and tap class. Over the course of the dance season, we learned a jazz routine and a tap routine. I always loved jazz because it was way more sassy and fun than ballet ever was. Tap, however, was my favorite at this point. The only reason I even liked tap more than jazz was because of the tap shoes. Tap shoes are basically just jazz shoes with two pieces of metal under the toe part of the shoe and then on the heel. These shoes were so fun. I’m sure you can imagine how annoying that must have been. I would never stop moving and making noise. I would wear them at home and scuff up all my nice wood floors.My mom was not happy after seeing that. I loved all of the intricate steps and how we always tapped to the beat of the song. There were so many simple steps like ball changes or front irishes. I learned these steps then perfected at home. I remember the concerts where we had to walk in the tap shoes. I can’t tell you how many times I fell. The bottom of the tap shoes were so slippery that most kids wiped out on the way to the stage. I remember the one time I had forgotten a piece of my costume and had to run to the dressing room and get it. All of our performances were at high schools. The cafeteria usually served as the dressing room. The commute by foot from the stage to the cafe was quite lengthy. It was even harder in the tap shoes. I was running in them trying so hard to make my dance in time that I went to fast and lost my balance. I hit my head really hard. I cried for a good five minutes while still trying to get to the stage in time. By the time my performance was on,all my makeup had washed off of my face. My love of those loud tap shoes was not in my favor that day.

Soon after my tap and jazz phase, I decided hip hop was the new way to go. All the older girls took two classes. Of course, I wanted that too. I was now dancing about two times a week. I loved hip hop and the energy and fast pace. I ended up thoroughly enjoying hip hop and how confident I felt doing it. Finally, in eighth grade, I tried out for the competitive dance team at Norridge called Movers and Shakers. I did this all eighth grade and a little bit of freshman year. I decided to try out for Orchesis at school. I never thought in a million years I would actually make that team. The orchesis practices were rather rigorous and challenging. They were four hours in length twice a week. I eventually ended up quitting Movers and Shakers and decided to continue on my orchesis path. After sophomore year, I was finally old enough to get a job. My family really could use the help and I knew what I would have to do. At this point, I had been dancing for 13 years. I knew a job was more important. My mom became a single mother trying to support two kids with not much child support from my father. I’ve always been a independent girl and despite the fact my family needed help, I wanted a job. I wanted to be able to hold money that I had worked hard to make. I had to weigh out my major options. I knew that if I did orchesis again, there was no way I could have a job. Orchesis had been my job both freshman and sophomore year. I spent two months over summer trying to weigh my options. Eventually, I knew was had to be done. I got my job on my birthday and started three days later. When orchesis tryouts came up in September, I wasn’t there. I loved dance and I made so many amazing memories as I had shared before. I will never forget how dance created great friendships and fun. However, I have been at Lou Malnati’s now as a phone worker for almost a year in July. I’m so thrilled with my decision because it has taught me so much. I’ve learned responsibility, honesty, resilience, and success. I am still so fortunate to take advanced dance at school instead of gym. I still haven’t stopped dancing and I love to do it in my free time to bring myself back to these amazing memories made. In the end, I was and still am thrilled with my decision!