At the dance competition during Costume Runway last October, my dance victory meant the world to me. Coming out on stage after a very long time was not easy. I was scared and had mixed emotions, but most importantly I put all my love for dance on stage.

I remember that time when I was waiting for my turn to go on stage. Mr. Chong told me that I was representing the whole 10th grade. That just made it all worse.

The dance competition was held right after the participants of the Costume Runway showed off their costumes. I was the first one to dance.

As a Peruvian, our culture is very mixed. It brings some Spanish, some Quechua, and other native groups’ traditions. People who dance to our music wear special articles of clothing.

During Costume Runway, I danced to a hip-hop song. The song that I picked was “Confident” by Demi Lovato. I felt like this song portrayed the idea of going after your dreams and what you love doing.

I got involved in dancing in the last year of my elementary school year. There was a kid who kept bothering me and bullying me. It got worse in middle school, but this time it was a girl and a boy.

My dance was coming from me as I felt I was getting lost. It was just me and the music. I had no experience as such in any dance class.

College guidance counselor Ms. Wright said, “The best thing about your performance was when you did the splits and the karate kick I think that took it to the next level. It was a good time to watch all of your dances.”

Coming from a year of remote learning and dealing with Covid-19 and returning to a typical school year was hard.

I encourage everyone to go out there and do what they love doing, whether that’s drawing, dancing, or even being a tech nerd.

As long as you love doing it, go for it, and most importantly have fun.