Different Activities in Search of a Passion and an Identity - Essay Example

I have tried different activities in search of a passion and an identity.  During my sophomore year, I attended a group dancing competition show called Putting on the Hitz: one performance caught my attention. Halfway through his routine, a dancer started doing a break dancing move that allows the performer to roll and spin continuously on his back by swinging their legs like a windmill.  He seemed to defy the limits of human capability. When the show concluded, I felt excited and inspired. I wanted to learn how to breakdance.

I turned to the Internet for information and upon discovering an online community of break dancers, gathered all the knowledge I could from videos, text posts, and the opinions and advice that the other users provided.  This knowledge was wonderful, but I still needed to actually try to breakdance. I started with the basics. The fundamental elements of break dancing are hitting beats in music, and moving to the tempo. With a vague understanding of what I needed to do, my initial attempts at the windmill, a power move that requires strength, stamina, and skill, were clumsy and robotic. Still, I wasn’t disheartened.  I practiced and resolved to learn more.

Like any practiced skill, successfully completing this move would cost me many hours of trial and error, injury, and hard practice. After one month, I could perform a recognizable windmill. All my practicing left me with days of muscle soreness, bruises, burns, scratches, and scars, but I was elated with my progress.

My friends thought I was chasing a foolish dream. But, as they watched me push myself and progress they began to learn alongside me. After a year, I had improved vastly in my skills and was ready to put them to the test.