At a small age, Ellie had always dreamed of becoming a dancer. Although her stout physique and ungraceful motions were a guaranteed sign of failure, she never let go of that dream. At age seven, she had finally convinced her mom to sign her up for beginners classes. Even though she was almost a foot smaller than all the other girls and the “beginners” classes weren’t really full of beginners, she didn’t let that stop her. By age ten, she soon realized she was falling behind. Was the length of her legs behind the fact that she could never reach her head when leaping. Or could it be her body strength behind the fact that the number of turns she could do were limited? Whatever the reason may have been, she knew she had to fix something. By age fourteen, she has finally caught up. She was no longer the weakest link and instead of disregarding her body, she had learned to embrace it. So what if her turns didn’t last for more than eight beats, she would fill the time with even better motions. And so what if her back leg didn’t graze the top of her perfect bun, she would be able to replace it with something else. Whatever had once stopped her, she was not about to let it happen again. She had worked too hard to get to where she is now, and she is not about to let anything stop.

Only one number left. Ellie was now eighteen. She had spent the past eleven years staying hours after her class ended, missing parties and social events to practice, ruining any chance of pretty feet she ever had to get where she was now. She was currently waiting in the stage wings. She had made it. She was currently at the 2019 Teen Dancer National Competition in Los Angeles, California. Over 1,000 soloist made it to the preliminaries, and Ellie was now one of the 300 that made it to the finals. Only one number left. Ellie watched nervously at the girl currently on stage. Yes, she had long legs which emphasized her kicks, and yes her flexibility was far better than Ellie’s. Ellie got even more nervous. In one number, she would be on stage fighting for the chance to become the National Teen Dancer of 2019. As the girl on stage struck her ending pose and the announcer announced Ellie’s lyrical solo, she knew it was time. As soon as she struck her beginning pose, everything felt normal. She just danced her heart out as if she was in her dance studio like it was any day of the week. The dance went by in a blur, and before she knew it she knew it she was in her final pose. She was proud of herself. That didn’t mean she did perfect, but she was proud. When awards came, that pride turned into nerves. Her stomach felt like it was during summersaults. It was announced that second place had gone to the contestant before her. Ellie knew she was good, so what would that mean for her. “And first place goes to, Ellie Johnston.” It sounded unreal. She couldn’t believe it was happening. She jumped up and ran to accept the award. She spotted her family in the audience cheering for her. The crown was placed on her head and finally, in the eleven years of dancing, she felt accomplished.