John Ortiz is a recent a graduate from a highly touted dance academy. In his last semester at the academy, one of his instructors was interested in what had driven her students to find their passion in dance. So to find out she gave an assignment for each student to write a paper on how they fell in love with dance. In John’s case, falling in love with dance seemed as likely as the Cleveland Browns ever winning the Super Bowl.
Growing up John was never the most slender kid. He always had a big appetite and a love for the sweets. His body weight was never a concern or a problem for him until he reached high school. John’s home was located in the middle of an isthmus and was severely damaged by a deadly hurricane the summer before he began high …show more content…
John was familiar with a few kids at his new high school from his early childhood before he had moved, but over the years of not seeing each other, their relationships had dissolved.
The first couple weeks of high school were tough for John as a group of kids had begun hectoring him over his weight. His self-confidence was fading and he was having a very difficult time adjusting to his new surroundings. Also, the pressure of being the only one in his small group of friends without a Homecoming date was starting to weigh on him. With Homecoming only a little over a month away, John didn’t have much time to get himself out of the dumps and find himself a date.
John sat down with his mother and expressed the issues that he had been affecting him. At first, John’s mother insisted that he start coming to the YMCA with her to get into a workout routine in order to trim down and build his self-confidence back up. The only issue is that John hated the gym. He felt that he would be judged and made fun of there as well. John’s mother ran a couple more ideas past John until she came up with the great idea to have him visit his Aunt Caroline, who was a respected dance instructor in the area. John was convinced by his mother to take a few private lessons as it wouldn’t be a bad thing to learn a few new dance moves before
Growing up John was never the most slender kid. He always had a big appetite and a love for the sweets. His body weight was never a concern or a problem for him until he reached high school. John’s home was located in the middle of an isthmus and was severely damaged by a deadly hurricane the summer before he began high …show more content…
John was familiar with a few kids at his new high school from his early childhood before he had moved, but over the years of not seeing each other, their relationships had dissolved.
The first couple weeks of high school were tough for John as a group of kids had begun hectoring him over his weight. His self-confidence was fading and he was having a very difficult time adjusting to his new surroundings. Also, the pressure of being the only one in his small group of friends without a Homecoming date was starting to weigh on him. With Homecoming only a little over a month away, John didn’t have much time to get himself out of the dumps and find himself a date.
John sat down with his mother and expressed the issues that he had been affecting him. At first, John’s mother insisted that he start coming to the YMCA with her to get into a workout routine in order to trim down and build his self-confidence back up. The only issue is that John hated the gym. He felt that he would be judged and made fun of there as well. John’s mother ran a couple more ideas past John until she came up with the great idea to have him visit his Aunt Caroline, who was a respected dance instructor in the area. John was convinced by his mother to take a few private lessons as it wouldn’t be a bad thing to learn a few new dance moves before