“great things never came from comfort zones” i’ve been debating whether or not to post this, but life is not picture perfect and the hardest challenges decide to hit us when we finally feel like we have it all somewhat together. I applied for the Independent Training Program, knowing I could not miss the opportunity of being in nyc for an exchange semester to finally invest in myself and my art. My heart was bursting with happiness and excitement from the day I got the acceptance email to placement week. I felt eager to learn, to grow, to finally start taking myself seriously as a performer. And then, I got injured. My kneecaps gave away, resulting in a chaotic trip to the ER and a overall messy night. I was able to hold my tears tightly until I heard the dreaded “Oh, you’re a dancer? We’re so sorry, but you’ll have to stop.” I was still a newbie to the city, with few friends and connections, locked in her room with a giant leg immobiliser. I was missing college classes and seeing the other dancers living their best life through social media. The physical (and emotional) pain would not ease and I would say to myself “You’re done. This is it. You’ll never be able to do it”. I was spiralling around this for days until my PT told me: “your body has a higher capacity to heal than we thought. if you don’t give up, you’ll be back dancing soon. you can do this.” After three weeks of forced rest, my schedule became even more chaotic, with college, physiotherapy, daily gym recovery sessions and a slow reintroduction to the program. It was mentally and physically challenging, in every way possible. My whole life revolved around getting better and picking myself up when I felt like I was not good enough, when my technique failed my expectations and my legs were not as strong as I wanted them to be. I fought as hard as I could to finally have the diploma I hold in my hand today and the feeling of achievement is inexplicable... filled with power and perseverance. This was only possible due to the dancers that became my support system, our restless program director and the incredible teachers that inspired me on the daily. I am beyond grateful. I did it. 🤍