I am part of Ballet Folklorico Tapatio, a Mexican dance group that is celebrating 25 years of dance. I started dancing when I was 7 years in 2020, and I still dance today. My mom got me into dancing. I wanted to quit right away because I thought I wouldn’t have any fun, but my mom kept me going. I eventually became better and I was finally confident in myself. I told myselfthat I was good enough!

My group went to Disneyland to perform in front of over 1,000 people! I did my first show and I loved it! Then, the show passed and I went right back to not liking it. Every time I would do a show I would love dancing, but I still didn’t feel like I was good at it and I felt  embarrassed.

At the beginning, I wasn’t very good—I didn’t know a lot of steps and I was confused. Every time a show would come up, I would try my hardest, but I still felt I wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t confident in myself, but as time passed, I felt so special getting to do this! I tried my hardest and when I got off the stage, I felt EMPOWERED!