If you would have told me as a freshman in high school that merely a year later, I would be performing in front of the whole school, I would have thought you were crazy. Throughout elementary and middle school, I struggled with making friends and appeared shy due to family issues. Although I had participated in choir for multiple years, the idea of singing alone shook me down to my core. Simply impossible.

I was even a cheerleader for one year, and even though I had always enjoyed dancing, my shyness ultimately made the experience unenjoyable. However, the idea of performing whether singing or dancing, still remained something that I had consistently dreamt of ever since I could remember.

When my freshman year of high school finally began, I continued to avoid activities involving performing, letting my fear of the stage dictate what I wanted. I took a sport for the gym credit but wanted to keep myself mostly uninvolved to focus on my studies and to make the transition to the high school lifestyle easier.

Many of the new friends I was making got involved with my high school's dance team. The team would perform choreographed dances during halftime at the home basketball games. And they persistently tried to talk me into joining the team. As my sophomore year started, and I knew more of the workload I could handle as well as my confidence was continuing to grow, I finally decided to give the team a try.

At first, it was horrifying. I learn from repetition and everything seemed to be thrown at me too fast. Before my very first performance, I swore I was about to throw up.

But, as soon as I started dancing, it all became smiling and muscle memory.

Being on the dance team allowed me to meet a new group of people and grow even closer to the friends that had talked me into joining in the first place. In fact, gaining the courage to perform has not only helped me grow in confidence, but it has helped mold me into the person that I am today.

I had wanted to perform for so long, and now I have. Facing your fears brings you closer and closer to not only being unstoppable but also being the person that you have always wanted to be.

Especially, in my case, with dancing. Being able to fulfill a long-lasting desire for an activity that I had already loved means more to me than I could possibly describe. And if a shy, young girl is able to flip the switch and mold herself into a more open and confident person, why can't you?

"Dance enables you to find yourself and lose yourself at the same time." -Unknown