The Summer I Became…..

a sophomore.

But before we get there, we have to rewind to the start of freshman year. Because honestly, freshman year kind of set the tone for everything.

It started with dance season. New team, new routines, competition season right around the corner. I was so excited. And then mid-September happened.

I fractured my foot. In Theatre Foundations class. While choreographing a group dance.

Me. The dancer. The default choreographer for the whole group. Fractured my foot over literal nothing.

So here's what happened. I backed up a few steps, tripped over absolutely nothing, and when I fell — even though I caught myself — I twisted my foot just right and landed with my full body weight on it. That's it. That's the whole story. I really wish it were more dramatic. It isn't. And the thing is, my knees had already been giving me trouble from an old injury, so I was already working around that. And then I just... tripped. In a classroom.

I was in a boot from mid-September to mid-January. I wrapped that thing in a trash bag more times than I can count while waiting for the waterproof cover to arrive. Also, nobody tells you how fast you lose muscle just from changing how you walk—I was staring at my leg at one point going, wait, where did my calf muscle go?

Because of that, I didn't get to compete again until March.

I'm not going to pretend that wasn't hard. Watching your team perform routines you were supposed to be in is a very specific, heavy kind of FOMO. I was so proud of them, every single time, but it still hurt to watch from the sidelines.

But I didn't just sit there. Since I couldn't dance, I poured all that extra energy into acting. And honestly? It paid off. I ended up booking my very first film role as Lola in the movie Pretend! Getting to play a supporting character was such a surreal experience and completely made up for the rough start to the fall.

I also finally went back to LeBlanc School of Acting after having to take two terms off because life just got way too chaotic. It felt so good to get back into the groove of training. I've even started submitting myself for projects on Actors Access—I actually just threw my hat in the ring for a literal dream role, so fingers crossed on an audition invitation!

On top of all the script reading, I hit the books hard. I took AP Human Geography and scored a 3 on the practice exam (which, fingers crossed, means college credit as a freshman!). I knocked out extra credits online last summer, and I'm doing it again this summer. I have a whole dual-enrollment plan so that by the time I graduate high school, I’ve already knocked out a massive chunk of college.

And somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, I got a job! I started teaching at my tumbling gym, and it’s honestly one of my favorite things ever. Turns out teaching gymnastics to little kids hits different when you actually love the sport.

Coming back in March to finally compete again was everything. It reminded me exactly why I do this, why I grind through the studio rehearsals, the late-night scripts, and the crazy schedule.

Freshman year was a lot. It was injuries, audience seats, boot covers, film scripts, AP tests, and big pivots. But looking back, it forced me to grow. Heading into sophomore year, everything feels like a fresh start—a whole new era—and I'm choosing to start it feeling like I completely earned it.

My mom telling me "No Dance Today" because the first time we came here, I did a little dance thinking my foot wasn't broken. 💀 I was so terrified of needing surgery or a pin that I wasn't about to tempt fate or bring in any bad vibes again!.