Entry #6 A Guide: Finding Your Passion

What is your passion? What is the one thing that inspires you? What is the one thing that fills you with motivation? I never searched for my passion until I realized that my life lacked fulfillment. I feel that the fast-paced environment that life constantly surrounds people with prevents people from truly living. My goal is that by sharing my story, I will be able to provide others with the confidence to learn more about themselves, discover a new hobby, and pursue their happiness as an individual. My story began my freshman year of high school when I was just fourteen years old. I somehow found the courage within myself to venture out of my comfort zone and sign up for my first ever dance class. This was a pivotal moment in my journey to finding my passion. In my experience I have learned that stepping outside of your comfort zone is the most necessary step to finding new hobbies. My freshman year including me learning how to be confident in front of others while attempting to do a leap.

However, I learned a valuable lesson in my first year dancing. I learned that it is okay to not be perfect at something when you first try it. I realize now that I had an incorrect preconception about hobbies prior to trying dance. I thought that everyone was born to be amazing at "one thing" and that they would only have to try that "one thing" once to be perfect at it. I was incredibly wrong. I realized during my freshman year that everyone can be great at anything if they put forth effort. My confidence alone had increased immensely after my first year of dance.
During my second year of dance, I began to really develop my passion for dancing. I practiced nearly everyday and even joined after school groups to improve my skills. This is when I began to utilize effective goal-setting in order to measure improvement within myself. I have found that by setting smaller, more attainable goals, I was able ultimately reach my larger goals. My biggest goal during this time was making it onto my school's performance dance team. I was inching closer towards my goal the more I involved my life around dance.

My junior year is when I met my goal. After all of the hours I practiced and committed to becoming a dancer, I finally made it onto performance dance. I even began setting more goals. My next goal was to perform a solo during my senior year dance concert. This experience taught me to truly "aim for the stars". I began this process not feeling like I could take a beginning dance class, let alone become a member of performance dance. I ended this experience with a new passion and zest for life. I feel that this experience changed my perspective on the world around me. 

I encourage everyone to find what adds meaning to their life. All of the cliches are correct when they say the sky is the limit!