practice it away for over 6 months. My coach insisted that taking a break from training or getting my legs checked up implied a lack of discipline. As a result, parts of the posterior malleolus and talus were cracked on both sides of my ankles. The physician announced that I no longer can wear my point shoes which meant I was no longer able to dance as a pro. These words were like bullets in my chest, causing me unsurmountable pain. There was no way out. No solution to resuscitate my career, to become the beautiful dancer I always fought for. I did not realize the extent to which ballet dictated my life until it was all taken away. The craft I perfected throughout most of my life deflated into nothingness, into a thin air like it never happened. What was left of me was a destroyed heart and skeletal body that was too weak to hold up my big dream. However, just as there is an upturn for every downturn, this incident made me grow into a much stronger wiser self that knows how to protect my own body and my well-being that allows me to pursue my new dream to become a lawyer. I learned to love my body more than ever without starving myself because it has gone through with me the toughest heartaches of my life, knows all my deepest scars in which I survived, and allowed me to explore this world with the new conviction to live. I am no longer controlled by external forces that try to deprive me of who I am and who I strive to become - I have regained power over my own body and mind. My incident with ballet was not a story of failure but a lesson that taught me the importance of my physical and mental health. Our body and mind are what allow us to fully thrive in a life that we are given. That is, our body is precious as-is, and whether it fits the mold of perfection of our time or not does not determine our worth as a wonderfully unique individual.
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