For most people, activities picked up at a young age, whether voluntary or involuntary, usually don’t stick. However, for senior Maja Vidinlic, dance was certainly an exception.
Starting at just two years old, under the heavy influence of her older sister, Maja was enrolled at a dance studio, where she danced for three years. At just five years old, she started dancing not only recreationally, but also competitively.
“I would kind of try and do whatever my sister did,” Maja said, “and after a couple [of] years of competing, I learned that I really loved it and I wanted to do it forever.”
It is so rare to find a hobby that you love so dearly, and can continue to enjoy for such a long period of time. However, as this season marks her sixteenth year of dancing, Maja considers herself very lucky to have found an activity that she could see herself doing for many more years to come.
“There’s times when I get really tired, and when I doubt myself,” Maja said, “but then I think about it and say, ‘What would I ever do without dance?’”
When she joined the varsity dance team during her freshman year, it was certainly a challenging shift. Not only from the increased amount of schoolwork, but also growing accustomed to the demanding schedule, she found herself having to adapt and find strategies to ensure her success both on the team and off.
“For me, [the biggest challenge] was time management,” Maja said. “Especially when I was going into high school, it was hard to find a balance between my schoolwork and dance, and it was very gruelling, and I had that big jump from almost no homework to a lot more, so that was a hard thing to manage.”
In sports, it can be challenging to keep pushing yourself through it all. In life outside of your sport, with demanding classes in school, and social relationships with friends and family, or also within your sport, in tough practices and rehearsals. To maintain and enjoy dance for sixteen years, Maja has definitely had to find enjoyment in it all, even in the harsh practices and hectic schedules.
“I get out of school, I go to dance, have a little break to go home, and go back to dance,” Maja said. “It’s my life, I do it every single day.”
Sports, especially when they are part of someone’s life for a long time, have a lasting impact on them as a person and can help strengthen their character and identity. Sports have many positive impacts, including team building skills, communication, and time management, as well as lasting lessons that stick with you for life.
“Dance gave me a tough skin,” Maja said. “I realized that I have to give myself the validation because not everyone else is going to give you that.”
When a sport or hobby is as demanding of your time as dance can be for Maja, as expected, you may not always love it all of the time. As passionate as Maja is about dance, she also finds herself getting sick of it from time to time.
However, high school isn’t always as long as it seems, and can go by in an instant. Enjoying the little moments with the team is exceptionally important, as it can be gone the next thing you know.
“You only have four years, so just enjoy the time you have with the girls,” Maja said. “The time goes by really fast, especially throughout my four years, and looking back to freshman year, it felt like yesterday.”