I spent the two weeks before spring break recovering from an injury- a sprained foot, to be exact. This was my first really serious injury; and let me tell you, I hope it’s my last. It was an awful experience, but also one that really helped me realize my own strength and endurance.

I was told to spend the first couple days completely off my foot, which meant I couldn’t even walk, much less dance. I was quarantined to the corner of the dance studio, where I spent two days sitting on the floor, halfheartedly stretching, desperately awaiting the day I would finally be dancing again.

The third day, I was allowed to be on my feet. I went into class with high hopes… which were immediately crushed when I barely made it half way through class. I was frustrated, to say the least. My mother, trying to comfort me, told me that this was normal, and that it could take up to six weeks for my foot to fully recover. I almost had a complete breakdown. Six weeks? We were preforming Swan Lake in only 12 weeks- I didn’t have six weeks to recover.

Thankfully, by the end of the week, it didn’t look like it was going to take anywhere near that long. I spent every spare moment trying to strengthen my ankle back to where it had been, and although I still wasn’t even trying pointe, I was managing to make it though almost the whole class (except for jumps). I even made it through the whole five-hour rehearsal on Saturday afternoon, and it only took another week for me to be completely back in the game, pointe and all.

I was extrodinarily proud of myself. I made it through my first injury and I’m just as strong now as I was then. While I hated having to go through it, I understand that it was good to have the experience now, so I know what to do and about how long I can expect to be out if it happens again- but I still hope that it doesn’t.