“I started [dance] when I was three, doing [those] little kiddie ballet classes.

My dad drove me to ballet every single day for eight years, and my mom [has] always [been] so supportive.I always know that they’ll be there to watch me and to congratulate me when I’m done, even when I don’t feel like I did the best job. They keep me wanting to keep on trying and dancing.

Sometimes, it can be a source of stress because I’m so caught up in it when it’s competition season. There [have] definitely [been] times when I just wasn’t in the right mental space.

Still, I know I will always return to it because I’m constantly reminded of all the amazing relationships I’ve built through dance and [how it] has helped me become who I am today. I can never actually bring myself to quit because I love it.

In Belles, I’m the colonel, which means I oversee varsity and help with JV where it’s needed. I also answer questions and help people with technique if they need it.

[The] role as colonel has definitely strengthened me and taught me to be able to acknowledge when I am wrong and when I need help, because there are definitely parts of Belles that I can’t do completely on my own.

When someone needs help, I’m not as afraid to reach out to them to ask them if they need help, rather than waiting for them to come to me.

Belles is a community, a sisterhood, that it is hard to find elsewhere.

Everyone on Belles is so supportive of each other and I see these girls as my sisters. I love [them] so much.

Dance is such a unique experience: you can express and be yourself and also know that other people will relate and be able to be themselves too.

It’s a community like no other.”