Kalee is an incoming fourth-year BS Home Economics undergraduate student. In this article, she shares her experience as a dancer and how she manages to juggle her academic responsibilities and her passion for dancing.

A Natural Talent And A Dream

Kalee’s passion for dancing did source from an idol or an inspirational figure—it was something that came naturally to her. She never imagined that her in-born talent could lead her to bigger heights such as the UAAP. While she never cultivated her gift with any real, proper training, she had this quiet dream in her heart of auditioning for the UP Streetdance Club but found herself doubting as she could not find the courage nor have any technical expertise about dance. However, she had dreams of becoming more than just a regular college student—she loved dance too much to keep her dreams buried down. She knew she wanted to be a part of something bigger.

“The reason why I auditioned was because I didn’t want to just be another student passing through college. I wanted to be part of something that feels surreal, like stepping right into a world I had only ever watched from the sidelines.” Kalee said.

Kalee, after fully realizing her dream, tried out for the UPSDC annual auditions 

Through Struggles, Blooms Triumphs

Now for being a part of the team for two years and counting, she had more triumphs than she could count. Her struggles brought her lessons which turned to discipline that she would carry for the rest of her life.

Her team’s recent championship in the UAAP was something crazy to imagine. The gold medal on her neck carried the weight of the sacrifices she had to endure. The heaviness of all the late night training and the fatigue she had to endure was paradoxically lifted from her shoulder as the weight of the medal was placed on her neck. “It was an unbearable struggle,” she said, “but I would gladly do it again if it means being a part of something this fulfilling and having the privilege to wear the name of the university with pride.”

“24 Hours Isn’t Enough”

It didn’t matter what technique or mechanisms used in juggling her academics and her passion—every way to manage it was difficult. With a practicum at 7 AM, classes until 5:30 PM, training from 6 PM, and midnights of accomplishing work, all methods were bound to fail with a schedule as hectic as hers. Eventually, she just learned to trust that everything will fall into place eventually. She learned that things always work out in the end. 

There are so many things to do with just so little time and it eventually gets overwhelming thinking about it too much. In this chaos, she just learned to focus on what is in the present—to focus on what is in front of her and simply push through and keep going no matter how hard it is.

She learned to value rest and sleep, even if it’s a short 5-minute power nap. FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is something she learned to ignore as her fear of not getting enough sleep exceeded that. In the midst of her chaos, she learned more about her body and mind; and what she learned is that sleep is her best friend.

From one student-athlete to another…

Kalee’s message is not of motivation, but of comfort. As a student-athlete who sacrificed her way to discipline and eventually, a championship, she comforts other student-athletes by saying that it’s okay to lose sight of the big picture sometimes. Getting through the day is often enough of a reminder that one has already made this far and trust that it will work out eventually.

“Just focus on making it through the day. You don’t need to have everything figured out every single day, because the fact that you’ve made it this far already says a lot, so believe that things will work out because more often than not, they eventually do.”