I've been dancing since I was three years old and am still dancing. At first, dance was just something I did on the side, as a hobby. I had dance practice, soccer practice, softball practice, and choir rehearsals each week growing up. As years passed, I started to become more serious and more focused on dancing because it was one of the things that really spoke to me. We all have those in our life. I grew up competing in dance and having rehearsals 3-5 times a week; now I realize that dance was always more than that.

Dance is an expression. Dance has helped me to portray a more personal story through my movements, even if I can’t 100 percent relate to it. Not only am I portraying to others, but I am also expressing my own thoughts and feelings. Life isn't easy, but with dance, it's made me a little stronger because I was able to let everything out.

Dance is for everyone. Anyone and everyone can dance. You don’t have to be ballet trained or trained at all. Many think that they can't dance because it "doesn't look good" or because they can't "dance to the beat". It doesn't have to be perfect! Just be confident and have fun! Just move your body and let the music (or no music) fill your soul. As Martha Graham says it best, "Dance is the hidden language of the soul... The body says what words cannot... Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul's weather to all who can read it".

Lastly, dance is a safe haven, a place where I feel most myself and can be myself. I dance when I’m happy, overwhelmed and sad. I dance when I’m confused, lonely and angry. I feel safe and at peace when I’m dancing. I don't need a studio or a stage to dance. I just need me. Dance has become not only a way to express myself and a home where I feel “safe”, but also my best friend. I form my body in a way where I’m speaking with my movements (and sometimes to the music as well) to compel a boat-load of indescribable emotions. I feel like I can tell “dance” anything and everything, with full trust and pure movement.

Dance has become so much more to me than rehearsals and competing. Dance has become a part of me that will always be there. Even though I keep getting injured or re-injured from dance, I just can't fully let it go. Dance is an open door that has engulfed me into a whole new world where I can be myself and express every emotion I am feeling without feeling judged or mistaken for. We all have a safe haven and a way of expressing ourselves. I’ve just found mine within the form of dance.