Personal Narrative: I Remember The Dance

Practices continued. Nothing changed; except for me. I kept going, I didn’t let them win and I didn’t quit. Now the moment: the first game. I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I’d be. I felt that since I had made it so long already with dealing with the three that I could get through anything. I can honestly say that for my first time really performing I couldn’t have done better. I realized I really can do anything. Things didn’t get too much better, but I think they realized it

I worked out everyday and practiced every chance I got. When the first day of tryouts came around again, I woke up that morning like every other day, but I knew today was different. I knew that today was the day I was going to redeem myself. When I got to the field most of the guys looked familiar, a few of them even joked around with me and asked "you're back for more?" Unlike the previuos year, I was ready for this tryout. I proved to everyone that doubted me and said I couldn't and I earned my spot on that team. The moment I saw my name on the team's roster was one of my proudest

It was a very warm and tense place in the gymnasium of the Alpena High School. A group of freshman and sophomore baseball players were waiting for the words you wanted to hear which was “Congratulations” or the not so good news of “Sorry” from the coach deciding if you made the team. Personally, at the start of baseball tryouts I thought to myself it’s going to be a toss up to see if I would make the team having a 50/50 chance. I was nervous for the most part because there were an abundace of upperclassman also trying out for the team that were on it last year. There were twenty-seven people trying out for fifteen spots to play JV baseball.

I remember the gut wrenching feeling looking at the bright computer screen on that Wednesday evening not seeing my name. The confidence I had a minute before was all taken away in an instant. I didn’t make the middle school cheerleading team. I know it seems like a first world problem, but I wanted more than anything to make that team and when I found out I did not make the cut I was devastated. I had worked so hard to put myself in the best position possible. I practiced motions, jumps, and even smiling until my cheeks went numb. Unfortunately, this did not do much in terms of getting put on the team.

The tryouts were next week, and I was so nervous. What if I didn’t make the team? I thought.

Then we started to warm up because we had a judge's preview. So basically we just went into a classroom and performed our dance it was really scary at first, but then it got better because I knew they weren’t judging us that

On this bright and sunny day of August. I was very happy and excited to be starting my first day of Booker T. Washington high school as a freshman.Today I am going to tryout for pom with my friends Maddison, Haleema, and Jose. As I walk out the school doors to go home and get ready for pom tryouts I get butterflies in my stomach because I’m very nervous. When we are driving up to the school I look at all the people who are here and I know that Haleema, Maddison,Jose and I have to try our best if we really want to make it.The next couple of days as I walk down the hall I see the boys and girls who tried out for pom rushing to an orange paper hanging on the wall next to the lockers. On the paper I see Maddison and I made the team. That moment I noticed that Haleema and Jose were a little disappointed because they tried their hardest. So they decided to join track the next day. Maddison and I were very excited that we had pom practice the next day.

We decided to pass the ball around to help kill time. I saw many familiar faces many of the girls I grew up playing with on rec leagues were going to tryout. At exactly 5:30 sharp the tryouts commenced. We started with a simple 3 lap jog or so it sounded. At the pace the older girls were taking those three laps they might as well have called it a three lap sprint. After the worst three laps of my life I was drenched in sweat and breathing as heavily as a dog after it chases a squirrel. After we got past the sprinting and stamina part I began to show what I could really do. I tried my hardest on every drill that they had us do so I could ensure myself a spot on the team. After that there was still one day of tryouts that would be the following day. The next day we did mostly the same stuff we had done the day before but you could feel that everyone was trying their best to impress the coaches that were judging us. As the tryouts came to a close I hoped that had done just enough to catch the eye of one of the judges. After the second day of tryouts the coordinators told us that know who did and didn't make the

However, my parents pushed me to continue playing, and I then came to the decision to tryout for another team. I started to prepare intensely, in hopes to make the team. When arriving at the first tryout, my stomach was in a knot, and I felt ill. When hesitantly and nervously walking into the gym, I was the opposite of optimistic. I felt hopeless, and that making the team was not even a possibility.

The day of my tryout comes, and I’m nervous because it’s a totally different style of dance than I’m used to. I know nothing about it, and all the girls have been at it for over a month! Despite that, I’m still excited and I eagerly walk in the front doors of my high school. 30 heads turn to look up at me. My dirty, worn out shoes, and messily pulled-up hair didn’t seem too appealing to them, to say the least. Some of the girls looked confused and whispered quietly with the person to their side. The two captains of the team come walking up to me with a huge smile on their face. The kind that’s kind of forced.

These past two years have been crammed with so much new knowledge and understanding of dance that I could never be taught at a studio, for example, I have been told many times about my neck being pushed forward if I can recall I was called “turtleneck” but that's beside the point just knowing that I started to notice other things that aren’t correct with myself and I have been able to start fixing it which improved the quality of my dancing tremendously.

It’s really cool to just try the moves we learn in class with different people. I would get really nervous when I dance with someone that’s better than me because I would be scared to mess up, but eventually I got the hang of it. I regret not dancing with the more skilled girls because I would probably have learned a lot from them. It did feel a little discouraging towards the end because no one else was dancing except the more advanced people. So all I could do was observe them and admire how graceful all of them looked.

Sophomore year, all of that changed. Madison and I decided it would be fun if we took dance class together and so we did. The time came around where we had to create an intro and outro to the dance swing and perform it. We tried to choreograph during class, but she always got distracted by other people and it didn’t bother me that much until it came down to the day before the performance and we still had nothing.

Last year at my dance recital, the craziest thing happened to me. The day started out like this: I woke up, went to a last minute rehearsal for the ballet, and then prepared myself for the show that night. And then while I waited in anticipation for hours to fly by so I could check in at the theater, I got my makeup done and put my hair in a low flat bun for the first dance I had. I also made copies of the pictures at dress rehearsal for all the teachers. After the time got closer, my dad and I went to the theater to check in. Once I got there, I dropped my costumes off in the dressing room, and then went to the stage to get the last minute corrections from my ballet teacher, Ms. Lainie. When all of the dancers got on the stage, she gave the

Their pointed feet, perfected turns, and enthralling appearances left me in awe as the Hills West danceline performed a breathtaking routine at our annual homecoming. As I watched from stands, I knew I had to add a new chapter to my long life as a dancer. However, after being a member for a year, everything changed once a new coach was employed who desired to downsize the team. She met with us individually, hosted new tryouts, and ultimately decided that I would be one of the girls removed from the team. I was shattered, deflated, but mainly lost. Cutting me from my own team was like robbing me of my identity. If I was not a dancer, then what was I? It me took weeks to optimistically view life after danceline. Although coach asked me to rejoin