Life is a never-ending learning experience. Throughout life I have had many memorable events. The memorable times in my life vary from being the worst times in my life and some being the best, either way they have something for me to learn as life experience which shaped and made who I am today. If I could name one word to summarize my childhood, that word would be “dance”.
I started dancing ballet at the age of 5. Before I even realized it, I have been doing it for almost 13 years. I was given my first pointe shoes when I was 13. From that moment on, I knew that I had to start working hard. I wasn’t gifted with ballerina's feet; mine are flat and my natural turnout was nonexistent. Standing on a block of wood on my tiptoes for hours while simultaneously trying to remember difficult choreography and incorporating basic dance techniques were very discouraging. It is hard to be so committed to something without passion. Dancing has taught me what it truly means to love what you do.
Having a passion gives me the motivation to keep at it and push on even when things get tough. Every fall, every blister, every broken nail helped me understand that stumbling block is a part of life and it won’t stop me from working hard every single day to beat yesterday’s version of myself, which helped me become the best dancer I could be. After being admitted into high school, I was fortunate enough to be given the scholarship to study aboard in the United States in the exchange student program for an academic year. Making this decision was hard and scary since the prospect of flying across the world, settling into a completely new country and being so far away from my family was initially intimidating to me. I went to an American public high school which required a big adjustment as I came from a co-ed private catholic school. On top of this, the language barrier has made it even more challenging.
Unfortunately, things do not always go as expected. There were miscommunication and cultural difference which led to some conflicts between me and my host family. Hard times helped me grow up as I started to get involved in as many clubs and activities as possible, and eventually got familiar with the new life. Isolation and loneliness of being in a foreign country helped me realize my own capabilities and strengths. I went out of my comfort zone to gain maturity and independence. The independence helped me back here in Thailand as it provide me ability to make decisions and have confidence in myself. Studying aboard also allowed me to meet people from all over the world with different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. I broke every stereotype and made life-long bonds with them.
Each of them taught me the most valuable lessons about life in both good and bad times. Having my own adventure has proven to me that anything is possible and that I can do anything if I put my mind to it. This experience was a life-changing one for me and absolutely changed me for the better.