Personal Reflection

Hi everyone,

I wanted to use my last post to take some time and reflect on what I have learned through out this project and my dance class. Before I do that, I wanted to say thank you for reading this and hopefully you learned some new things and were able to expand your thinking through my questions to you.


I have learned more than I expected about myself through taking this World Dance class at Eastern. This class has challenged me not only physically through dance but mentally as well. I tend to be somewhat of a perfectionist; I expect and demand a lot from myself on a daily basis. I am an Athletic Training major, which relies heavily on knowledge of sciences and the human body. These disciplines are mostly factual; we know what happens and what doesn't. The answer is either right or it is wrong, in most cases. In dance, I did well with certain dances that had more structure and certain moves and rules, but found myself struggling with the dances that were less about form or structure and more about creativity and emotion or improvisation. I found that it was not only difficult for me to let go of trying to be 'perfect' but it was very uncomfortable. I found that I got frustrated and ready to give up easily with things that I didn't get right away. Looking back, I am surprised at how much anxiety I felt just from not being perfect at something. It was a huge eye-opener for me. Aside from learning about myself, I also learned a lot about dance and culture, and how learning about something like dance and the 'why' behind people do what they do, really helps you understand and see things differently. When you get past the actions and the physical movements and learn the feelings and emotions behind them, it gets easier to appreciate and see the beauty in things you might not have seen before.

Through this project specifically, I learned so much about my own culture since I am part Irish. I enjoyed reading the articles I found about the young people from England who work hard everyday to remember their Irish culture, or the young Irish dancers who explained how Irish dance made them feel confident and powerful. Hearing young people talk so passionately about their culture or their talent gives me so much happiness. It is so easy to get lost in the empty, temporary "fun" that so many young people are involved in these days, like partying or worrying more about make up and clothes than their education. It is refreshing to hear young people talk about things that carry worth and meaning for a change. I truly believe God created us all with a unique purpose. Today there are so many distractions that can keep us from figuring out what that purpose is. From this project I have been inspired to do more things that make me uncomfortable, so that I can become better. I want to challenge myself more and be open to new experiences without feeling like I have to be perfect. I think these lessons and interventions will help me become the person that God created me to be.

Thank you again for reading, and I hope you have learned something about yourself too!

Rachael Loeb, ATS
Eastern University