Personal Narrative: Kinesiology

Whether rooted deeply through generations of a family or formed through an experience, passions and fascinations are what drives us, humans, to be who we truly are. At this point in my life, I do not want to reach comfort or perfection, but rather feel composed and confident in what I chose to merge my ballet skills with. When I dance, I escape reality and feel a pure exhilaration.This sensation shapes my curiosity and interest in the human anatomy. From the elements that make it up to ways in which people individually move their bodies, the human body is absolutely fascinating. Specifically, I am passionate about teaching ballet to younger students. By introducing ballet to kids early on, they will experience the same joy almost all dancers feel for a longer period of time. When I’m dancing I’m challenging your mind, releasing endorphins, and working hard. I am also eager to own my own business linked with teaching that will provide people with affordable dance equipment, and even more crucial, advice on what suits each person's personal needs. I know as I grow old my body will not be as capable as it once was, but I’m dedicated to spreading my appreciation of ballet to others. Overall, my passion for ballet and how I can utilize it to positively impact society as an entrepreneur has developed through the inspiration of my grandparents, the creativity of my former dance teachers, and my interest in the human bodies relation to ballet.

Dance demands the same physical skills that are required in other sports. Flexibility, strength, and endurance are key characteristics that most dancers need to posses. As with other “athletes,” most dancers are not born with these abilities but must establish them through practice and repetitive training. Similar to traditional sports practices, dance rehearsals are extensive and require diligence, dedication, and patience from the dancers as they will have to repeat exercises and stretches to perfect their technique and stay on

Dance is defined by Webster as “moving rhythmically to music, typically following a set sequence of steps”. However, it can also be used to sway an audience’s judgment or exhibit feelings and emotions that cannot be conveyed by the usage of verbal language. When watching a show, I would like to be able to get something out of it and with this it brought childhood memories and rung my old tomboy ways and made me realize not only is it okay to sometimes still have those tomboyish habits but also to see you don’t always have to be an adult and take everything in life seriously. During this performance two of my favorite pieces were 909 Lamentations and On the surface. I felt as if these were two of the strongest pieces throughout the whole performance.

As a young athlete, running had always been my least favorite activity. Unfortunately, every sport I played was dependent on that very act. Countless suicide runs and lay-up drills in basketball, and even more base runs in softball, served as a distraction from this mundane activity because at least I was running for a purpose. My brief time on the cross-country team demonstrated that while I may have excelled at sprinting, long-distance running was not my forte; and also materialized by my omnipresent side stitches. However, my senior year of high school came and to my surprise, running would be the one thing I missed dearly. My short time as a starting varsity player in basketball came to an end when I tore my left ACL. A host of changes came from just this one incident. After sustaining this injury and enduring surgery and physical therapy, my career goals took a dramatic turn; I went from an aspiring visual artist embarking to Rutger's Mason Gross School of the Arts, to extremely interested in the field of physical therapy.

This semester my primary goals were to eat healthier and to maintain my 6 mile run time. My two goals required a lot of dedication and the body works class has helped me stay focus on my goals throughout the entire semester. Having body work class on Mondays helps me get my week started with a good workout, secondly having this class in general works as a reminder that being healthy and active is an everyday challenge that truly pays off in the long run.

Martha Graham once said “Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.” In my personal experience with dance and other forms of art I would have to agree 100% with Graham’s statement. Art can only be true when it’s a passion, when it’s raw and makes you feel something deeper than what you are as a being. It’s supposed to bring your passion and emotions out into the physical world. As I sat through the show I couldn’t help but feel detached. I felt as though the dancers performed with their knowledge of dance instead of with their passion. While it was impressive to watch, I left the theatre feeling the same as I entered, and art isn’t supposed to make you feel that way.

I have always been physically active and I have participated in many sports and athletic activities and programs throughout my life. However, one thing that I have never considered to improve my fitness was just going out for a walk! Engaging in walking activity has improved so many areas of my life. I have become more health conscience and through this new perspective I have begun to make better fitness decisions that are helping me live a happier, healthier life. I first noticed a change in my fitness level when I was at soccer summer camp. At the camp, we had to run a mile around the field. I remember how last summer I had been really out of shape and I had struggled to run the course. However, this summer, because of my keeping up with my walking program

All I could pay attention to were the Doctor’s socks, sticking out from under his trousers. They had little sushis on them. I half-listened to his words- they sounded garbled like they would underwater. After a failed physical therapy program and a disappointing first doctor's’ appointment I prepared myself for the worst. After all, Osteochondritis Dissecans doesn’t exactly sound optimistic. My hearing finally came back to focus at the words “I can fix your arm. You can do gymnastics again.” I study the doctor. He isn’t tall, he has graying hair and sushi socks. His voice is encapturing - very clear and matter o fact. “ I can fix your elbow. You can do gymnastics again. It is not going to be easy to come back. But I can do it.”

Physical skill is one of the main assets of a dancer. This skill set consists of excellent flexibility, strength, and coordination. These things are essential in

Number two, dancers must be simultaneously flexible and motivated to work with drive. Dancers are required to practice as much as possible just like other people who play sports, in addition to memorizing routines that take a great effort of skill. Dancers must also have a good mental attitude and stay upright even if they mess up or feel like they aren’t performing well This stamina is also shown in any other athletic

I would like to improve my muscular endurance and muscular strength because I play softball and I believe it would help me become a better athlete. While completing RIGHT ANGLE PUSHUPS and the PACER during fitness testing, I found my muscles got very tired and weak. I think if I improved my MUSCULAR ENDURANCE and my MUSCULAR STRENGTH, I would do better next time during fitness testing than I did recently. Muscular endurance allows muscles to sustain repeated contractions for an extended period of time. In softball there are various movements that muscle endurance can contribute to. In softball you need to be able to throw repeatedly, as well as standing in a squatting, ready position. Your muscles will be in use for a certain amount of time,

Beginning as a young child, I have dreamed of becoming the next great sports star. Baseball, basketball, football, soccer; it did not matter what sport; I just wanted to be great. Unfortunately, due to some athletic limitations, this dream soon became very unrealistic. However, my thirst for fulfilling my life’s goal has not been quenched. I just would have to find another way to accomplish such a fantasy. Coupling my love of sports with a natural inclination to help others, I soon came across the profession of sports medicine as what I wanted to do with my life. Sure, I might never score the game-winning touchdown or hit a buzzer beater, but I can still be the star, just behind the scenes, helping athletes that have been injured. Alabama,

A piece I enjoyed at the Orchesis concert titled Here Nor There was REVIVAL, which featured choreography by Jonahira Cordero and music composed by Mike Wall. It has been a privilege to watch this piece develop since its performance debut at the Choreographer’s Showcase this past fall. I believe the dancer’s movement in the piece was strong, even though there seems to be a force that overpowers them. The movement and overall essence of the dancers never seemed weak; however there was a force or being that was initially stronger than them. The movement itself was very grounded; it required a strong sense of core and body connectivity in every movement phrase, especially because their arms were bound with cloth for most of the piece. I believe

One day after eight hours of work, I was sitting on my couch watching television when I saw a commercial showing a man who had lost fifty pounds in six months. Having seen similar commercials over the years, I really did not give it much thought. However, a couple hours later the commercial still lingered in my mind. I stopped for a second and thought, “Why don’t I work out, but to gain muscle instead of losing weight?” I decided to join a gym with two goals in mind, to gain muscle and become fit; I did not want to be the skinny kid anymore. I began working out four days per week, doing squats, sit ups, push ups, bench press and deadlift reps. Pushing through the pain and exhaustion has made me a better person. My perseverance has taught me

I was always asked what I wanted to do when I would get older, but I would never have an answer. Rushed and unready to answer, I would reply with lawyer. The only reason I would say that is because I loved to argue and I was very passionate in the ideals and values that I believed in. Moreover, I decided to stick with that answer until I found some career that better interested me. It was not until I was fifteen when my mother got into a car accident, that I figured out what career would best suit me and pertain to my qualities. Because of the accident, my mother was left with pain in the leg area, leaving it almost impossible to move long distances. Consequently, this was not the best situation for her, especially since she already had joint pain there. It hurt to see my mother struggle to move up or down the stairs or even move her legs too much.