Artifacts

When I was four years old, my parents signed me up for an Irish dancing class at a dance school just five minutes from my house. With no previous knowledge of Irish dancing or even any Irish ancestry, they believed classes would simply be a way to keep my active self busy and entertained. After attending a few classes, I was completely hooked and would show my friends and family all of my new dance moves. What my parents and I didn’t know, however, was that what seemed like a simple hobby would end up becoming the focus of our lives for the next fourteen years.

Though I had almost no natural talent at the beginning, my love for Irish dancing fueled my determination to become the best I could be. Outside of school, I dedicated the majority of my time to eating healthily, going to practices at least five days a week, and cross training in preparation for competitions. At the age of 10, I was able to work my way up from small, local competitions to the World Irish Dancing Championships which was held that year in Glasgow, Scotland. Less than 1% of all Irish dancers qualify for this event, and by doing so, I was able to travel all over the world. My biggest accomplishment as an Irish dancer was placing 5th at the World Irish Dancing Championships in 2014. This placement defined my career as an Irish dancer as I proved to myself that hard work can truly lead to seemingly impossible achievements.

Now that I am at college and focused on excelling in my school work, I made the difficult decision to stop Irish dancing competitively. It had been such an important part of my life for so long, however, that I couldn’t imagine giving it up completely. Luckily, The Ohio State University has their own Irish Dance Club that meets every other week and travels to two competitions a year. I decided to join the club as it isn’t a tremendous time commitment, but it allows me to continue doing something that I have always loved with people who share that same love. Joining this club has proved that no matter how busy or chaotic my life may be, I can always find time for my passions.

 

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