Final Draft Column # 2

Try until you get it
By Abby Richter

I’m sure a lot of us can remember what we wanted to be when we were little. I wanted to be a professional WNBA basketball player, and now I’m going to school to be a journalist. It’s something I never had a dream of being until college. Then there are the select few people who actually do what they have wanted to do since they were little, and my sister, Jenna Richter, is one of them. Her motto has always been, “If you have a dream, you have to try until you get it.”

Since I can remember my sister has always danced. It wasn’t until the fifth grade she knew what she wanted to do with her life, but how many of us know what we want to do for the rest of our life in fifth grade? “I knew I wanted to be a professional dancer when I was in 5th grade at the Dance Olympus Convention in Kansas City,” she said. “I was the only dancer from the studio that went to all the classes, and I learned so much from all those teachers and realized I wanted to continue to learn and see how good I could be. I remember coming home and writing in my journal about how much I wanted to dance and how much I loved it.”

The crazy thing about her dream of becoming a professional dancer was that a lot of people told her it wasn’t a realistic dream, and she still didn’t listen to them. “A lot of people laughed when I said I wanted to dance for a living, and a lot of people didn't understand,” she said. “They thought I would do it as a side job or something like that. No one really thought I could support myself dancing.” Our dad always thought it was unrealistic too, but my sister said he was just trying to look out for her best interests.

Jenna is lucky that she knew that she wanted to dance for a living at a young age because, with dance, you have to train your whole life. It takes years and years of rigorous training to perfect the craft. “You have to commit to it when you are very young in order to have time to gain skill and technical proficiency,” she said. “It takes awhile to develop and understand the artistry of it as well so you can become a good performer.”

Don’t get me wrong; it hasn’t been an easy journey for her. After college she moved to New York and it was a struggle for her to get jobs just because the dance industry is a hit or miss. But she kept on pushing towards her goals. “I keep pushing myself because I've always achieved everything I have set out to do,” she said. “I keep trying, even if it takes more than one try. I've found that you can get anything you want if you keep trying. You have to be pushy with yourself and with the jobs you want. Try until you get it. It's always worked for me.”

It did work for her. Jenna now works on a cruise ship dancing and performing in shows, and I envy her because she travels the world and dances for her job. That’s what I call a dream job. I bet she thinks of all the people who told her she couldn’t do it and has to chuckle to herself, because she’s finally made it, even if it took 22 years to get there. From her I have learned if you have a dream, “Try until you get it.”
Source- Jenna Richter
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