18/09/2024
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/U3qawjRQTJdmQU6p/?mibextid=WC7FNe
If there was one thing I knew growing up in Highland dance it was this:
Dancers from New Brunswick didn’t get top 6 medals in the Canadian Championships.
There were dancers from NB before my competitive years who had received top 6 placings.. but the emphasis was usually on the fact that it was a long time ago and we didn’t stand a chance.
This shaped my outlook on my competitive potential for the first several years of my dancing career.
I would go to SDCCS, and would place in some of the competitive events throughout the week, but never the Canadian Championships.
So the rumours were checking out ✔️
As I got older, I started to think.. wait.. why can’t a dancer from NB be top in Canada?
Sure there are some benefits to dancing in a larger province, where competitions are larger and more competitive, but I had two legs, two arms and a head just like the other competitors...
So I set my sights on a top 6 medal in the Canadian Championships🏅
I knew things had to change. My practicing had to become a lot more intentional than it was.
I set up a new practice space in my grandparents’ basement, who gave up a whole section of their home for me, and had a new motivation to go after this goal.
The goal became all I thought about, and it had me practicing nearly 365 days a year in pursuit of it.
I achieved this goal when I was 14 at the Canadian Championships in Saskatoon.
It snowballed from there. I set my goals even bigger, accomplishing huge dance dreams, including finishing top 6 overall in Canadians, winning the Canada Open Championship, and finishing top 6 in the World Championships.
Why am I sharing this?
Because I believe you’re capable of any goal your mind can come up with. Whatever you dream up is out there for you. The goal might feel scary, and there WILL be failures. It will take hard work.
But I encourage every dancer I work with to dream big. Your goals are out there waiting for you to have the courage to pursue them 🩵