Center stage and a single spotlight. The audience is silent as all eyes are directed towards the pristine figurine dancing upon the tips of her toes. She glides across the stage with ease and elegance, leaving the audience in awe and disbelief.

For as long as I can remember, this has always been my dream. It has always been my dream to pursue the art form that consumes my life and that I have learned that I cannot live without. I have such a deep devotion and love for ballet and ever since the age of 6, it has been my dream to become a professional ballerina.

When growing up, most little girls dream of becoming beautiful ballerinas. They hope to wear the enchanting pink pointe shoes and the fluffy white tutus. As time goes on, those little girl dreams fade and new ones arise. But for me, those fantasies never went away.

Each day, I drive downtown to the Grand Rapids Ballet School. I am usually at the studio for about 4 hours each day and over 8 hours on the weekend. When I first tell people that I do ballet, their response is usually, “How are your feet? Do they hurt?” And to answer that question, yes, more days than not, ballet is definitely painful. Long and strenuous hours are spent at the studio perfecting technique, mastering combinations, and always striving to improve yourself. At the end of each day, my muscles groan and ache while my feet cramp and blister. With dancing for many hours comes great sacrifice. There are some days I don’t leave the studio until 9’o clock. There are times I have to miss school sporting events and instead collapse on my bed in exhaustion.

But despite all of these challenges, I would never trade a minute of it. Ballet has been my escape from reality, my escape from the world of snapchat stories and high school drama. Each day I look forward for the time at ballet when I can focus on only myself and how I  can enhance each step. When I dance, I only think about myself, my technique, and the urge to make it in the ballet world.

I honestly don’t know what I would do without ballet in my life. It has taught me perseverance and that hard work pays off. I could never imagine myself getting bored with ballet or losing interest. There can always be more turns, higher jumps, and better placement, among other things. I love the thrill of letting the music carry me through the steps and I love the feeling of completing complicated combinations. For me, ballet is everything. When I step into class, I become part of the music and for awhile, I can forget all of the things that stress me out and have fun and feel free.

All of these things are what make me fall in love with this art form. It’s never changing, constant, and I know I can always depend on it. At times, yes it’s challenging; and yes, it’s very time consuming, but maybe that’s why I love it so much. Thinking back to my 6 year old dream, I have such a strong determination to make it in the ballet world. There has never been a period of time that I have doubted what I want to do with my life. Only 2 out of every 50 girls become ballerinas, and I intend to be one of them.