Change

"It will cost you nothing to dream and everything not to." -anonymous
    Every athlete has had low points, times in life when they want to quit and throw everything that they have worked for right down the drain. This is when you must take a step back and evaluate what you really want, and think about the consequences you would go through if you just simply gave up and quit. My advice is don't. I too have been to this point where I'm sore, tired, and beyond stressed. For a short amount of time what you love isn't fun anymore, well it won't stay like this forever.
    Maybe like I did you just need a change of scenery. I switched studios my 12th year of dance and the change made me realize why I feel in love with dance in the first place. Not only did I get out of my quitter brain I was offered many new and amazing opportunities that I forever will be grateful for. I realize now that I would rather have a million hard practices to the point where I puke and succeed at what I love than slack off and just have fun at practice. Yeah, fun practices are always great but what won't be great is not doing as well as you want at competition, or not making it onto the college dance team that you've always dreamed of because when you were given a challenge and the opportunity to work hard, you didn't. The biggest mistake is regretting and opportunity you didn't take. Working hard may suck now but it won't later and it will create a great reputation for you. Everyone wants to be known as a hard worker and motivated and they will also want that person on their team.
     Another thing is that failing to work hard will not only hurt yourself but also will hurt the others around you. Negative energy is more contagious than positive energy. Make sure you are always the positive energy that is ready to work and contribute to the teams competitive success.