When I tell people that dance is my passion, it does not give justice to the way I feel about it. Like humans need oxygen to breath, I need dance. Dance is my oxygen and it is an essential component of who I am.

It is not unusual for me to be in my room with my iPod plugged up after a ballet class choreographing my own dance to my current favorite song. When I should be studying, I instead will spend hours in my room with the door closed in my own world of dance. When I hear certain songs play on the radio, I can close my eyes and envision a performance in my mind…

Someone once said that dance is the dumbest thing a person can choose to do because we have to force unnatural movements that the body is not characteristic of doing. Ballet is the most challenging sport a person can choose to do because while pushing yourself to the limit to make the sometimes impossible steps look flawless, you have to make it look easy so the audience feels as if they could stand up right there and mirror the dancers’ movements. If ballet is what you love, then you work through all of the physical barriers to strive to become the best.

People cannot fathom the amount of work it takes to be a dedicated dancer. Six days a week I drive an hour to and from the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education in Atlanta. My time spent there daily can range from two to four hours, and that is not including any added rehearsals for upcoming performances. The earliest I get home is 9:30 at night. I’m up and my light is always on long after my family is sound asleep trying to keep up with my rigorous honors and AP class schedule.

It often feels as if the Atlanta Ballet is my second home. Almost all my time not spent in school is spent dancing. And I love it. When I unfortunately am unable to attend class one day, I feel as if something is missing as I sit on the couch not knowing what to do with this short segment of free time. I find myself turning on the TV for the first time in weeks to try and distract myself from the feeling of emptiness.

Dance has opened up an entire new world to me: different friends, different material taught, different teachers, miles away from my school life. I have been exposed to many new opportunities and I have acquired many skills, such as discipline. While in class and rehearsal a dancer must be dedicated and focused to improve and progress as a dancer. Discipline is essential during school and after ballet doing homework. I often fall asleep while studying and sometimes the simple task of getting out of bed in the morning feels impossible. I tell myself that all my hard work will pay off in the future and I am somehow able to pull off the covers, plant my feet firmly on the ground, and start my day knowing that there is a very good chance it could end the same way. But to me, it is all worth it.

Ballet is intellectual, physical, and takes and incredible mind to body connection. Most people cannot appreciate the amount of sacrifices a true dancer must make. It is what I have done since I was two years old, what I do now, and what I will keep doing for the rest of my life. All I want to do is dance, just dance.