My time at Greeley West has taught me so many things, the biggest one being, to embrace change. Prior to high school, change was always the last thing I wanted. I enjoyed structure, routine, and consistency. However, high school offered me many opportunities to create a major change in my life.
Going into my freshman year I had no plans to try new things. I planned to go to school, be a good student, stick with my friends I had known in middle school, and go to dance, like I always had. I wasn’t opposed to branching out, it just had never crossed my mind. The first week of school, Peggy Freemole (Frem) found me in class and told me to try out for her poms team, even though they had tryouts for that season three months earlier. I decided to try out, with no solid intention to be on the team because I already knew that my commitment to competitive dance would not allow me to do that. The next week Frem convinced me to join the team.
Once I was on the team, my opportunity for involvement skyrocketed. I danced at football games, pep assemblies, community events, and represented West at League, State, and Nationals. All things I wouldn’t have attended without being on the team. I loved being able to represent and perform for my school. With these opportunities, I had to attempt to create a balance between my commitment to the team and my studio. Creating a balance was incredibly difficult, and in retrospect, I don’t even believe I accomplished it that year. I had to pick and choose which commitment was my priority each day and every time I chose, I felt like I had picked wrong. All of my time went into these things, leaving very little room for me to prioritize school and other little things, like sleeping. By the end of the year I was burnt out, falling asleep in my classes, and found myself not enjoying either thing I had worked so hard to balance and have in my life. If I hadn’t cared so deeply about my studio, I easily would have been able to quit and just do poms, but that just wasn’t an option for me. I didn’t ever want that part of my life to change. However, my freshman year led to serious contemplation of my future and what I wanted my highschool experience to look like.
After weeks of consideration, conversations, and pros/cons lists, I made a change in my life that I never thought I would make. I quit competitive dance and made my priority poms and theater. This was the scariest decision I had ever made. I had never done theater, so if I hated it, I would have given up dance for nothing. My overall experience the year before, with poms, didn’t leave me with a new passion, I just wanted to stay involved in my school. I made this choice with hopes I would discover a passion as meaningful as the one I had for dance.
That year, my experience on the poms team made me regret my decision to make such a major change. I didn’t discover a passion, the drama was overwhelming, and I was losing my skills that made me stand out as a dancer. I knew I had made a mistake. However, I found that missing passion within theater. It became my new home, cultivating a family and a love I had never anticipated and validated my decision for change. It challenged me because I had absolutely no experience as a singer or actress. It also inspired me to branch out more and join our schools’ choir.
After discovering my love for theater, I was happy that I made that big shift in my life, however, there was a void that was not being filled with poms. I took a big leap of faith in myself and went back to competitive dance, now balancing dance and theater. Every day I was scared that I was repeating the past and I was destined to get burnt out, lose my passion, or disappoint my peers, coaches, and directors. However, I was determined to make this work. My new found passion for theater and persistent passion for dance motivated me to work even harder to keep these two things in my life.
Over the past two years, I have been able to be leads in four musicals, choreograph for three of them, go to over ten conventions/competitions with my studio, earn scholarships, perform for my school, perform for my community, AND keep my grades up. There was never not a conflict to be dealt with, but I got them handled. There were many times when I thought I made a mistake on either side, but I was persistent and determined.
Although it was scary and extremely difficult, I am so incredibly grateful that I had the courage to make the changes in my life that were necessary and embraced the ones that were given to me. My embrace of change led me to a new passion, which will be exercising as I pursue a career in musical theater.
I am extremely grateful for my journey at Greeley West and I plan to take all of my lessons learned with me, in my future endeavors.
