Standing in the dance room, my hands tremble with nervous anticipation. I try to recall every choreographed move as my peer’s watchful eyes look up at me. Every bone in my body regrets taking this class. 

I knew I hated presenting in front of my classmates, so I started to wonder why I took a class where I needed to dance in front of them. 

With shaky legs I stand in front of everyone with my group. The music starts and we begin to dance. 

For as long as I’ve known, I’ve always hated standing up in front of a crowd. Knowing that all eyes were on me: judging and evaluating. It always made my breath quicken. I dreaded presentations and discussions. Therefore, performing in my Physical Education dance class brought back the same anxious pit in my stomach.

 Or at least that’s what I thought would happen. 

Students learn a variety of dance genres in the class. At the end of every dance unit, the students create a dance using specific choreography that relates to the type of dance learned: ballet, hip-hop, latin, jazz, and more. The students also get to choose a song as well.

 At first, I hated every moment of performing. The suspense, the dance itself, and the overthinking afterwards. 

However, after having to repeat the process multiple times, I felt myself slowly starting to like it. It felt almost like exposure therapy. The more I was out of my comfort zone, the more I learned and grew. The anxious tidal wave in my stomach turned into an excited swarm of butterflies. I found myself being unable to wait to perform, and I was thrilled to get to show off our finished product. 

Now, every gold day, I look forward to the thing I once dreaded. Once I started expanding my horizons, I was able to enjoy myself in ways I never thought I could.

Don’t limit yourself, don’t let personal expectations and anxiety get in the way of your path in life.