Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?
Standing in the backstage wing of the Ford Amphitheater were my dance partners and I. Drums were pounding loudly from the stage. It sounded as if an elephant had decided to join the show. I had a dance solo in the beginning of my dance. Even though the solo only consisted of dancing on to the stage while holding a blanket in front of me for 45 seconds, I could hear my heart pound louder than the drums as I waited for my cue to go on stage. Why did my dance director choose me for the solo? As much as I loved dancing, I knew I was not the best dancer in the group. I had a huge amount of stage fright. I could barely read passages out loud in front of my theology class that consisted of only 23 girls without stuttering on every word from anxiety. Dancing in front of 1,300 strangers seemed impossible. I thought I could not do it, but I did. In that short moment on stage, I was able to find something within me that I had never seen in myself before. Being a dancer for a Filipino folk dance group has not only made me proud of my cultural background, but it has also helped me find the hidden boldness and confidence in myself.
At the age of seven, I joined my first dance group, Kayamanan Ng Lahi, which translates into "treasures of our people." My mother bribed me to join by buying me a new video game. On my first day of class, the dance director had a small orientation session with the whole group to introduce ourselves. She told us to state our name, age, and our reason for joining. I said in a quiet tone, "I'm Monica. I'm seven and a half and... " I did not want to admit that I did not actually want to be there. So I stared at the floor as the director asked me why I had joined. The whole group laughed. They thought it was cute, but I thought I had humiliated myself on my first day. After the class, I told my parents I did not want to return to the next class but my parents would not allow it. As a daughter to two Filipino immigrants, it was important for my parents to make sure I knew about my cultural roots even though I was born in a whole different country from theirs. They saw this group as the only possible opportunity to ensure that I would learn about their Filipino culture. I knew I would be crushing this hope of my parents if I were to quit so I attended the class every Sunday for the next eight years. During those eight years, I only thought of it as ways to keep me busy on Sundays and to satisfy my parents. It also took me eight years to realize that it meant even more than that.
During dance lessons, the dance director would occasionally teach us trivial facts about the Philippines. I listened to them but I never thought that the information would ever be useful in my life. Yesterday, my history teacher was discussing the Philippines in World War II. He asked the class if anyone knew what an archipelago was. My hand was the only one raised. "It's a large chain of islands. The Philippines has approximately 7000," I answered. He was surprised, "How did you know that?" I humorously replied, "Because I'm Filipino." The class giggled. I was surprised to discover that I actually learned more than just dance steps from dance classes.
After my performance at the Ford Amphitheater, I was shocked when strangers from the audience and my dance director praised me for my solo. My proud parents congratulated me with a bouquet of roses and the biggest smiles I had ever seen on their faces. My dance director asked, "So do you still want to quit now?" I jokingly replied, "Of course not. That show would have been boring without me." Ever since that day, my self-doubting, unconfident attitude slowly began to disappear. I started to apply confidence in all that I do, whether it is in reading out loud in front of a class, performing in front of a thousand people, or making everyday decisions. Who would have ever thought that my whole attitude towards life could change from a 45 second dance solo? I never thought I would, but I did.
Standing in the backstage wing of the Ford Amphitheater were my dance partners and I. Drums were pounding loudly from the stage. It sounded as if an elephant had decided to join the show. I had a dance solo in the beginning of my dance. Even though the solo only consisted of dancing on to the stage while holding a blanket in front of me for 45 seconds, I could hear my heart pound louder than the drums as I waited for my cue to go on stage. Why did my dance director choose me for the solo? As much as I loved dancing, I knew I was not the best dancer in the group. I had a huge amount of stage fright. I could barely read passages out loud in front of my theology class that consisted of only 23 girls without stuttering on every word from anxiety. Dancing in front of 1,300 strangers seemed impossible. I thought I could not do it, but I did. In that short moment on stage, I was able to find something within me that I had never seen in myself before. Being a dancer for a Filipino folk dance group has not only made me proud of my cultural background, but it has also helped me find the hidden boldness and confidence in myself.
At the age of seven, I joined my first dance group, Kayamanan Ng Lahi, which translates into "treasures of our people." My mother bribed me to join by buying me a new video game. On my first day of class, the dance director had a small orientation session with the whole group to introduce ourselves. She told us to state our name, age, and our reason for joining. I said in a quiet tone, "I'm Monica. I'm seven and a half and... " I did not want to admit that I did not actually want to be there. So I stared at the floor as the director asked me why I had joined. The whole group laughed. They thought it was cute, but I thought I had humiliated myself on my first day. After the class, I told my parents I did not want to return to the next class but my parents would not allow it. As a daughter to two Filipino immigrants, it was important for my parents to make sure I knew about my cultural roots even though I was born in a whole different country from theirs. They saw this group as the only possible opportunity to ensure that I would learn about their Filipino culture. I knew I would be crushing this hope of my parents if I were to quit so I attended the class every Sunday for the next eight years. During those eight years, I only thought of it as ways to keep me busy on Sundays and to satisfy my parents. It also took me eight years to realize that it meant even more than that.
During dance lessons, the dance director would occasionally teach us trivial facts about the Philippines. I listened to them but I never thought that the information would ever be useful in my life. Yesterday, my history teacher was discussing the Philippines in World War II. He asked the class if anyone knew what an archipelago was. My hand was the only one raised. "It's a large chain of islands. The Philippines has approximately 7000," I answered. He was surprised, "How did you know that?" I humorously replied, "Because I'm Filipino." The class giggled. I was surprised to discover that I actually learned more than just dance steps from dance classes.
After my performance at the Ford Amphitheater, I was shocked when strangers from the audience and my dance director praised me for my solo. My proud parents congratulated me with a bouquet of roses and the biggest smiles I had ever seen on their faces. My dance director asked, "So do you still want to quit now?" I jokingly replied, "Of course not. That show would have been boring without me." Ever since that day, my self-doubting, unconfident attitude slowly began to disappear. I started to apply confidence in all that I do, whether it is in reading out loud in front of a class, performing in front of a thousand people, or making everyday decisions. Who would have ever thought that my whole attitude towards life could change from a 45 second dance solo? I never thought I would, but I did.
