I heard the announcer say, “Please welcome, Music in Motion!” The stage blew up with light and the audience became silent, but I was not on stage. I was forced to stand on the side and watch the thing that I had been dreaming about for so long happen right before my eyes, and there was nothing I could do about it.

When I was in sixth grade, being in Music in Motion became a fantasy of mine. My older sister was in the group so I watched every competition in complete awe. When I was a freshman I finally got to audition for the group; however, the competition in my grade was very tough. When I found out that I made the group I was overcome with so much joy, I couldn’t stop the tears from spilling over onto my face. From that point forward I worked hard at every rehearsal to learn the music and the dance moves. We worked hard every day with those five goals in mind. We worked hard every day for those five competitions. We worked hard every day for those five grand championships that we wanted so badly. After four months of hard work, it was finally January, two weeks before our first competition. This was when I received the worst news of my life. I had to have emergency surgery on my stomach and I couldn’t dance for 3 weeks. I spent four months putting every ounce of energy I could into the show and I found out I had to miss two competitions out of five. At first, all I did was cry and say that there wasn’t even a point anymore. I believed that these two competitions would be the worst times of my life, but I was wrong. As I watched my friends dance in front of the audience and judges, I decided that I wouldn’t give up. It was very hard to stand on the sidelines and not be on the stage with them, but that experience taught me to always be optimistic and to have perseverance.

I thought this month would be the worst time of life, but it turned out to be the best. There will always be obstacles in your way when you have goal, but you have to overcome these obstacles to reach it. I may have an obstacle visible on my stomach for the rest of my life, but I have three grand championships to show for it.