Christy, G9A, RDF International School

瑞得福国际学校 叶雨萌

My first special memory is my first ballet class. I did not expect that particular memory to be my constant motivation.

One day, my parents took me to see a ballet show, in which I stepped into my first ballet class in my life. It was when I was 6 years old. It was unforgettable. Actually, before I studied ballet, I had learned Chinese classical dance when I was 4.

The moment I went into the ballet class, I saw some girls wearing pink tutus, tiaras and toe shoes, dancing just like a group of elegant fairies. I had never seen that before. It was so exciting. However, after a girl’s story of her road to ballet, I realized that, like other dances, behind all of the glamour and beauty, there was an unimaginable and hellish experience.

“If you don’t go into their class to see what they are being trained, you will never know how hard they are working,” I can’t help thinking to myself.

Seeing my worry, my parents asked me: “Do you still want to learn ballet?” Without any hesitation, I replied: “Yes.” Now when asked about the reason for learning ballet, I have no clear idea. Maybe I was moved at that time. Or maybe at that time I did not know how long my life would be.

Now what I clearly know is that ballet is what I want to persist in all my life, because I love that beautiful tutu. I love the special feeling of wearing point shoes. I love dancing on the stage. I love everything about it.

But nothing is perfect, although I have a lot of enthusiasm. I have neither slender legs nor long arms. What is more, I previously had difficulties in standing up straightly after I put on my point shoes. Nobody thought that an ugly duckling could ever transform into such a beautiful swan. But I did it with my personal effort under the help of Miss Yang, a qualified and excellent teacher.

She never gives up on me. She helps me become less impatient and leads me to know my own strengths. Without her instruction I may have given up. Thanks to her patient guidance as well as encouragement, I have kept dancing over the years, and lots of people said, “It’s a miracle.”

At the same time I also understand I have to be more hardworking to be as good as others.

In a nutshell, this is my first special memory, my first ballet class. This memory not only encourages me to keep walking on this road and become better and better, but also teaches me if I am not good enough I have to be more diligent to make up for it.