by Avah Fetzer
Assistant Editor-In-Chief
The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.
When I was three years old, my mom put me in a ballet class just like every other little preschool aged girl. I used to even complain about going to dance but that changed when I was around ten years old.
I began competing and the second I stepped onto the competition stage, my life was forever changed. There was just something about the adrenaline rush during a competition that made it all worth it.
Through many ups and downs, I began aging. I blinked and I was already entering my high school years in the dance world.
Once a dancer reaches the high school age, they begin dancing at the senior age level. For the majority of the competitions, this is the oldest age group in which you are able to still compete in.
I remember the first time I danced in the senior age group. It felt so surreal that I wasn’t competing in the junior or teen categories anymore. It made me feel old.
It was around my eighth grade or freshman year when I figured out that there’s more to dance beyond my 15 years of competitive dance. That was when I realized that I needed to put forth every bit of effort I have. I then set a goal.
Although the dancing aspect was a huge role in my dance career, the life-long friendships I had made meant everything to me.
Before I knew it, I was entering my senior year of high school. All of those years of hearing “soak in every moment” from other senior classes still didn’t quite make sense to me. Or at least not until my final week of school.
I got more sad thinking of exiting the dance world than I do about anything else. This has been my life for as long as I remember.
It’s hard to picture myself walking off the stage knowing I will never re-enter.
It’s hard to think about the friends that I see at practice every day that I will have to say “see you later” to soon, knowing that it might be months before I can laugh with them again.
However, I am proud. I have come a long way from where I began
As someone who was once (and still sometimes am) the girl tripping over her own feet, I was able to accomplish many great things throughout my 15 years of competitive dance. One of them being the goal I set for myself in eighth grade: to dance at the division one collegiate level.
Thinking back on my career is sad and happy all at the same time. The older groups weren’t lying when they said time flies. I’ve found it flies even faster when you’re doing the things you love. Be sure to cherish every moment because the practices will eventually finish and it’ll all turn into a memory in the blink of an eye.