Sometimes we don’t realize the importance a certain event will have in our life. I didn’t realize the first time I stepped on stage to dance at a young age that I would be doing it for the many years to come. Dance has become an important part of my life and has shaped me into the person I am today.

“Hold still,” my mom said as she put two ponytails in my hair and tied red ribbons around each of them. It was the day of my first dance recital and I was both nervous and excited. “Make a kissy face,” my mom said as she applied the slightest bit of lipstick to my lips. She assisted me in putting on my tights be kneeling down and pulling them up. She then continued to assist me by knotting by small ballet shoes because I did not know how to. “You ready?” she asked as she grabbed my hand and brought me to the car.

When we arrived to the high school my first dance recital would be held, my mom guided me to where my dance teachers were. They lined my up backstage in the wings with the other dancers in my class. “I’m so nervous I think I’m gonna get sick,” the girl next to me said.

“I’m not nervous,” I said confidently “I can’t wait!”.  It was everyone’s first time on stage and for some odd reason I was one of the only dancers who wasn’t nervous to dance.

“Don’t forget to blow a kiss to your parents after you’re done dancing!”, my dance teacher whispered before we entered the stage.

The bright lights of the stage turned on and the sounds of parents shouting to their children filled the audience. I heard a faint “Go Caroline!” in the audience which meant my family was in the audience cheering me on. The tune of “Yankee Doodle” came on and I began to do the routine I had been practicing for months. When I was done dancing and the audience started to applaud, I blew a kiss to my family and exited the stage.

All of the dancers scurried off the stage after the curtains had closed. “Amelia!” I heard a shout from another girl in my class named Megan. Megan moved her tiny legs to Amelia as fast as she could. “You messed up the whole dance!” Megan exclaimed.

“I’m sorry Megan,” said Amelia innocently, “I just got so nervous there was so many people!”.

It had been Amelia and Megan’s second recital and they considered themselves experts. But Amelia wasn’t the only member of the dance that had made a couple of mistakes on stage. In fact, most of us had because of all the nerves that had set in. I may had messed up but I know that’s not what is important. Even the best of dancers make mistakes no matter how hard they practice because after all, nobody is perfect. All I remembered was the incredible love I felt when I danced on the stage.

When I found my mom backstage, I ran to her where she greeted me with a hug, kiss and a bouquet of flowers. “Great job sweetie!” she said, “Did you have fun on stage?”

“Yes!” I responded with a smile bigger than the one I had on stage.

After my dance I sat in the audience and watched as older girls performed effortlessly with incredible technique. I looked to both of my parents and said, “I want to be like that one day.” They smiled and promised me that I would be able to dance again.

After over ten years of dancing, my dreams to one day be like one of the older dancers at my first recital have come true. Of course it took many years of experience, but I have learned so much through my experiences as a dancer. I’ve learned that practice makes improvement and to accept that everyone makes mistakes, sometimes at the worst times. But, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that a dancer doesn’t have to be the most flexible to be the most talented. Dance is an art. It’s about expressing yourself through the story that the song tells. A dancer can make anything look effortless despite the pain she is encountering at that moment. It’s those two, very important minutes where a dancer always falls in love with dance over and over again. The very important lessons I learned at my first recital influenced my perspective on working hard to become the dancer that I am.