Life Changing Eight Counts

When I entered high school, I was so shy that some of my friends later told me they honestly thought I was mute. Strangely enough, I loved to perform. I had been on a cheerleading team at my school before that, but my high school squad was terrible, and I wanted to perform competitively. Other girls who had had the same problem told me to try out for the dance team. I'll need to thank those girls some day because it changed my life.

It was a good thing I really loved the activity itself because otherwise I wouldn't have survived the first week. All of the girls on the squad had known each other forever, but I had gone to a private school and didn't recognize a single one. Most of them had also been in dance for years, me: I took ballet when I was 4. That didn't really cut it. The terms flustered me, and I almost fell over trying to complete some of the steps. The girls were great though; they slowed things down for me, taught me a lot, and soon, I learned to dance. My love for it grew, and I started taking classes at a great academy which helped me improve a lot. I worked so hard that over the years I earned several "Most Dedicated" Awards, and was captain my senior year.

While I'm pretty sure I would've stuck with it even if the girls had been terrible (it's not in me to quit), I would be a different person than I am today. I'm still a tiny bit shy around people I don't know, but the way those girls had me meeting all of their friends and going to all social events with them...I have been prepared for the unknown! They really did play a big role in my personality formation. I can trace every single friend I made in high school back to the dance team. Granted, we weren't all from the same social circles, and some of my friends outside of the squad would ask how I was friends with this dancer or that dancer. All I had to say was, "She's on my team." They didn't understand it; they thought I was just trying to be nice and not cause problems. Really though, you can't be part of a team without finding the good in every one of its members. I learned that through a hard semester on the squad. In trying really really hard to find some good in each girl, I found a girl that I could depend on and love.

Going to college was hard mostly because I was leaving my team behind. I thought dancing would distract me, but the classes through the university were full, I can't get to let alone afford any of the studios around here, and all the student organizations are hip-hop squads which I'm not into; I'm a pom, jazz, lyrical, ballet kinda girl. Without my squad, and no dance, I don't know how I survived this semester. There were many times were I went into the basement, put my ipod in my pocket, and just danced for hours. I haven't always been a huge fan of the female gender; admit it, we can get catty sometimes. But the squad changed that viewpoint for me, and now I yearn for that connection with a group of females with every fiber of my being. People have suggested sororities to me; it isn't the same.

My freshmen year of college is ending, and I'm leaving to spend my last summer ever in my hometown. I can't wait to go back to my old studio, and I can't wait for the big group hug from my old school dance team. I've searched high and low and finally found a place to dance next year. I know it won't be the same, but my squad has taught me that I need to try thing that are different; it just might end up changing my life.

With the combination of dance and the dancers I share a bond with, I now have the courage to be myself. No one will ever again think I'm mute.

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