I made the commitment and sacrificed everything to be a part of this art form I had no idea what I was really committing to I just knew at 13 years old that I finally found a place where I felt like I belonged and that I had a voice my life before ballet was pretty ordinary and one of six kids we didn't always have a lot of money but we loved each other we fought a lot my brothers in the audience and he can attest to that we were pretty pretty average I wasn't a part of any structured sports or arts in any way I was just in my Public School hiding trying not to be seen and not having to speak because I was just so shy and nervous all the time and when I was introduced to ballet at 13 it was just this instant connection and I felt that I could really say something