I’ll never forget that feeling when I opened the letter that confirmed my position on my varsity high school dance team, The Sachem East Varsity Arrowettes. At that time I had no idea how the journey that I was about to embark on would define a part of me forever.
As a fifteen year old girl the first thing that I thought about when I opened that letter was how I couldn’t wait to wear my varsity warm-ups. Being a part of this dance team was one of my biggest dreams as a little girl and it finally came true. Although I was filled with excitement, I didn’t realize at the time how truly lucky I was to be a part of something so special.
Anyone that has ever been part of a competitive sport understands how practices can be tough. We didn’t have practice space so we had to make due with the school lobby, we put blood, sweat, tears…broken backs, cramped toes, sprained ankles (you name it) literally out on that lobby floor during our practices. Our goal was always to “get those jackets” the ultimate trophy at Nationals down in Orlando, Florida. All three years of being on that team it was a chase to get those jackets… looking back on all of that now, I realize that we achieved something so much more important.
As a junior in college I still have an entire team of girls that are there for me. I have girls that are there for me to cry to, to laugh with, and to tell all of my exciting news to and vise versa. These girls have proved to be not only amazing dancers but also, truly amazing friends. What started as a group of teammates has evolved into a sisterhood. We learned to turn our weaknesses to strengths and overcome all different types of obstacles while being a part of our dance team “SEVA” that also helped our friendships grow. We learned to work not as individuals, but as a group to put our best foot forward in every competition, which evidently helped us put our best foot forward in our friendships.
It’s almost four years since we were all on that team together, but it’s funny because when we come home from college we’re often still called “The Arrowettes.” I think people still call us that because we’re all still best friends, I didn’t realize how rare that was until recently. Being part of SEVA may have been temporary however, the relationships that I made while on that team are forever.
I think I can speak for all of us when I say there’s one thing we wish could change… and that would be to go out on that dance floor together just one more time. If I can give anyone advice it would be to live these special moments to the fullest because although like Arrowettes, these moments may seem forever… we’re in the next stage of our lives in the blink of an eye.