What would you tell your high school self?
As I've been getting some of my students ready for dance team try outs, I thought I would do a "what would you tell your high school self" question.
As most adults would tell you, high school can be some of the most rewarding but tough years of your life! You're trying to figure out who you are, while preparing for tryouts, while studying for tests, while figuring out what the heck you're going to be when you grow up, while hanging out with friends and it can be tough and overwhelming. If I could tell my high school self something, it would be to have more confidence in yourself! You will have bad days, some days you won't be able to do your splits (even though you've been working on overextending them for over a year), some days you'll fail that set you studied so hard for, and some days you fall out of your turns, it happens! But instead of letting it get you down, use it to motivate you and push yourself harder. When the dreaded tryouts come around, don't be so scared! I would always be so terrified, but after judging my first tryouts a while back was when I realized that all my worry was pointless. Most judges want you to make it just as much as you do! If you smile, work hard, and do everything to the best of your ability, you will succeed! Of course you do need to work on your technique and stretch etc. but if you plan and work on yourself to prepare and give yourself time, you will be fine! One of the best pieces of advice I ever got, was instead of comparing yourself to the best dancer in the room, ask yourself why do you think they’re so good? Is it their confidence? Their technique? Once you’ve asked yourself that question, instead of getting jealous figure out a way to make you better. If the dancer youre admiring has amazing confidence, can you dance with more confidence? If they have amazing technique, can you go home and work every day on your technique to better yourself? Use others to motivate you, not tear you down. J
Another thing I would tell my high school self to focus more on what YOU want. As captain, I was entirely focused on how I could take my team to the next level. I was always brainstorming ways I could make my team better and how I could help people with the things they were struggling with, but I forgot that at some point I have to think about myself as well. I should have spent more time figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, and figuring out which school I wanted to go to. It would've saved a lot of money! Lol! I started out pursuing a dance degree because I loved it and than flip flopped between a ton of degrees that I thought would make me more money and give me a chance to support myself when I got older (my momma always taught me I didn't need a man!). Eventually, I changed my degree back to dance and I get to do what I love, and support myself at the same time. It's amazing how some things work out! If only I had thought more about what I wanted to do after graduating, I could've saved myself quite some time, stress and lots of tears!
Moral of the story is you're going to make mistakes and you're going to learn from them, but that's how to become who you're meant to be! Focus on being the best you can be, have confidence in yourself, and learn to put yourself first and you will succeed.
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