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My Adventure
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Starting Dance
When I was 4 years old my parents enrolled me in my first dance class. I'm so grateful they did. I grew up at my dance school, I was there right after school till night, 4 days a week for 10 years. I ate dinner there, did homework, learned to work with others and got to express myself and unwind from my day at school. I learned responsibility having to memorize choreography and having a schedule to follow allowed me to learn to be organized to make time to do things you love. -
A New Addition to the Family
My sisters and I had begged our parents for a pet for the longest time. They told us pets were a lot of work and that we wouldn't take care of it. We decided to prove ourselves to our parents and made a chore/behavior chart. Everytime we did something good or completed a chore we got a check. Once we hit a certain amount of checks and proved ourselves to my parents we were able to go to the pet store and pick out a pet. We came home that night with our reward, a little bird we named Molly. -
Dad making a scene
My family went away in the Catskills for a week. Our hotel had a bowling alley so one night we had finished dinner early and we decided to go. When we walked in, the place was packed with local teenagers. My sisters and I started to gossip about some of the boys in the room. When my dad realized what we were whispering about he sagged his pants down and turned his hat backwards to look like the boys. I don't get embarrassed anymore. My dad has taught me to not care what anyone thinks. -
Hawaii trip
For my sister's 16th birthday my family had gone to Hawaii. It was one my first big vacations and it is something I will never forget. Everything about it was so magical and dream like to me. I was mesmerized by the water and the people who lived there and meeting new people from other places too. Being in a different place so far from home was so exciting to me and it sparked my love for traveling. It was mind boggling to me that I was in this unknown land and all I wanted to do was explore it. -
Snowmobile Accident
I went on a snowmobile trip with my dad and neighbor. We were night riding when we found an open field. Before I could blink my dad was gone so I had zoomed off behind him going 85 mph. I couldn't see his lights anywhere when all of a sudden I hit a jump in the road sending my machine flying in the air. As I came down I saw my dad appear in front of me and my heart dropped thinking I am landing on him. As I landed I flew over the handlebars. I didn't want to open my eyes afraid of what i'd see. -
Trying out for Varsity
As a kid I would run laps around my house for fun. My parents didn't understand why but said it was so entertaining to see my head run by in the window over and over again. In 7th grade my friends convinced me to do spring track. In 8th grade I took a leap and decided to try out for the varsity team even though I had never run the times required for the try outs. The 1st and 2nd day of tryouts I had just missed the required time but didn't give up, I came back on the third day and made the team. -
10 miles
If you would've told me that one day id voluntarily run 10 miles I would've laughed. My best friend and I set out on this long journey together and finished it together. At mile 7 we started to feel fatigued. We were going so fast and didn't want to slow down. We helped motivate each other at times when the other needed it. After I pushed through the pain of mile 7 I felt strong. I felt invincible. We finished hard and overcame the mental barrier. When I finished I felt like I could do 10 more. -
People Die in 3’s
2017 was a rough year. I attended 4 funerals and had to host 3 of them. All in 1 year I lost my grandpa, grandma, and my aunt. These weren't the first loses i've had to deal with but definitely the hardest. The fact that they all happened so close to each other made it so difficult to deal with and felt as if life was just coming for me. Although it was a horrible point in my life, it helped me learn to handle grief and how to cope with things. I learned how much being there for others matters. -
Drowning
I was in Costa Rica white water rafting. My instructor mentioned the waters were the roughest they've had all summer. I felt uneasy as we approached this one whirlpool rapid. I paddled as hard as I could but my boat was at a 90 degree angle and we all were thrown overboard into the rapids. I was stuck under the boat but I was also held down, caught in a current under the water. I took 3 big gulps of water and was almost unconscious when I was pulled out of the water by the emergency kayak. -
Helping Hand
This summer I did community service in the village of Somosomo in Fiji. I had the opportunity to live in the village and get to know the locals and their kids.They welcomed us into their homes and treated us as if we were family. I've never in my life met such truly grateful and happy people. Coming home, I took so much away from just having a simple conversation with 1 person and seeing how truly kind they are. They have so little, yet are so willing to give. It was a very humbling experience. -
Skydiving
I've always been an adrenaline junkie and loved the thrill of going fast. Unlike a lot of people, I love the feeling when your stomach drops. It has always been my dream to go skydiving and I wasn't gonna pass this opportunity up.I asked my parents and my dad said yes but mom said no. I try to live each and every day like it's my last. I signed up without my parents knowing and called them when I landed. It was the best moment in my whole life. In that moment I was the happiest i've ever been.
