During the summer of 2013, I tried out for the Clarkston Dance team.  I was extremely nervous and I didn't think I was skilled enough to make either the Varsity or the JV team.  I had been dancing for 12 years prior to trying out, but I was still doubting myself.
         When I got to the school, I was the first person there.  My dad walked in with me so I wouldn't get lost and to help with my nerves.  After about 15 minutes, the coaches arrived and set up the table for sign-up.
         I walked up to the table and Kelsey, one of the varsity coaches asked, "What team are you trying out for?”
         "Either." I replied confidently.
         "Okay, you will be number 4." Kelsey told me while wringing down my name.
         "Thank you." I quietly said.
         I went and grabbed my dance bag, put my black jazz shoes on, and walked slowly towards the gym.  I sat down in the first row and began stretching a little.
         When more girls walked in, I started to scope out the competition.  I was getting very scared that I wouldn't make the team.  To make the whole situation even worse, I didn't have any friends trying out for either teams or even just varsity.
         At 8:00, a few girls who graduated the year before started to lead stretch.  After about 20 minutes of stretching, we moved on to skills, which consisted of jumps, leaps, and turns. 
         "Okay girls, we're gonna start with leaps." one of the seniors said.
         I was thrilled that we were starting with leaps because they had always been one of my strengths.  We got into rows and started leaping across the floor.  When everyone went at least twice, we moved on to Russians.  After about 10 minutes of Russians and other jumps and turns, we took a short break to get some water.
          "The seniors are going to teach you guys the dance now!" Coach Grammatico, the head varsity coach, said loudly.
          We all got into the formation we were in for stretch and the seniors started teaching the dance.  It was very complicated with a lot of advanced moves that I had never seen before.  I was starting to get very worried. I knew that I wasn't capable of doing all of those tricky dance moves.
         When I got home, I started crying.  I knew that if I continued trying out for either team that I wasn't going to make a team at all.  A few hours later, my mom got home.  I told her everything that had happened at tryouts that day and how upset I was about it.  She told me that she would call the JV coach to see if I could switch to just trying out for her team. Meanwhile, I called my sister, Lexi, who was on the varsity dance team for her last two years of high school.  She told me that I shouldn't be so nervous because I am a good dancer and that she knew that I would make one of the teams.  Her encouragement made me feel 100 times better.
         The next day when I got to the school, I went straight to Danielle, the junior varsity coach who I have known for most of my life from studio dance, and told her that I wanted to switch to just trying out for just JV.  She gave me a new number and I walked over to the JV part of the gym.  Everyone over there, which consisted mostly of freshmen, was staring at me.  I felt extremely uncomfortable and wanted to leave.
         We stretched and now it was time to tryout our skills for the coaches.  We got into a line and one by one tried out each of our skills.  I felt like I did a pretty good job and I was very proud of myself.
         During our short water break I went and talked to my friend Megan who was also trying out for just JV.
         "Why did you switch to just JV?" She asked me.
         "I don't know... I just felt like I wouldn't make a team at all over there. The dance was way too complicated for me to learn." I replied nervously.
         Since I didn't know the JV dance, one of the seniors, named Mackenzie who I had also known from studio dance, had to take me out to the hallway and quickly teach it to me.  I was getting really overwhelmed very fast.  It was way too much to take in in such a short amount of time.
          After what seemed like an hour, I had finally learned the dance and went into the gym with the rest of the girls.  We started running the dance as a group.  I was still a little unsure of what I was doing, so at the end of the day, I asked Megan if I could go over to her house later so we could practice the dance together.
         I went home for a little while and changed into different, more comfortable clothes because mine were very sweaty from the 3 hours of dancing I had done that day.  Megan came to pick me up a few minutes later and we went to her house. She helped me with any moves that I was confused with and I helped her.   We practiced for over 3 hours and at 5:30 my mom came to pick me up.
         I walked out to the car confidently with a smile on my face.  My mom could tell that I was happy with my decision of switching to JV.  When I got home I practiced the dance by myself for a little longer and eventually went to bed ready for the next day.
         When I got to tryouts the next morning I was freaking out. Today was the day where we would have to perform the dance in front of the coaches.  We stretched by ourselves and then I practiced the dance with Megan and a few of her friends.  After an hour or two, it was almost my turn to try out.  I then started having a panic attack.  I didn't know what to do, both of my parents were at work and weren't able to answer their phones.  I frantically called my sister and she answered rather quickly, knowing exactly why I was calling her.
          "Natalie you don't have to be nervous, you know the dance and you know all of the coaches and they all know you.  You are an amazing dancer and I know that you will make the team." She said reassuringly.
         "Thank you Lexi, you're right.  I'll be fine.  I love you." I replied hanging up the phone.
    What am I going to do?  I can’t do this. I’m going to mess up and fall flat on my face.
It was then my turn to go into the gym to try out.  Luckily we got to dance with a partner so it was less intimidating.  Mikayla, the girl I was trying out with, and I walked as slow as we could to the gym and got into our places for the dance.  The coaches turned the music and I started dancing.  After doing the dance twice, we were sent back into the hall to wait for the judges to deliberate.
          They started calling girls into the gym to tell them their results. When they finally got to me, I was sure I didn't make the team.  There weren't that many spots left and I knew that I wasn't good enough.
         I walked toward the coaches table and sat down.  Danielle looked at me and said, "Congratulations, Natalie!  You made the junior varsity dance team!" 
         I was speechless.  I didn't know what to say so I just said, "Thank you!" And quickly ran out of the gym and grabbed my dance bag.  I unzipped it and fumbled around until I found my phone.  I rushed outside and instantly called my mom with a smile on my face.
          "Mom guess what? I made the team!" I said trying to hold back my excitement so the other girls outside wouldn't notice.
          "What?!  Good job honey!  I'm so proud of you!  I'll see you later when I get home." She said hanging up her phone.
          I was so proud of myself.  That day I learned something about myself,  I could do
anything I set my mind to if I really tried and believed in myself.  I found out that I am a person who keeps on trying, even when I’m not confident in myself.
          Thinking about this today makes me very happy that I took a chance and tried out for the dance team.  I didn't think that I would ever be able to do such a thing.  I have made many friends from the team and I have become a better, stronger dancer.