As I walked onto the floor of the BJC for the first time, my heart felt electrified. The cheering from the stands was deafening. I had never seen so much energy and love in one location. Before we went to go find our dancers our captain, Maci, made us huddle up. She gave us a pep talk, which I don’t remember, and on the count of three we went off to find our dancers. Most people from my committee were able to find their dancers within a matter of minutes, but sadly I was not. I was stressed as I pushed through the crowds looking for my two dancers. After 40 minutes, I really began to worry. I was stressed and frustrated and it showed. Finally, after 50 minutes, I found my dancers and stretched them out. After I had found them I calmed down. My dancers were doing great, so I left them to socialize with some of there other dancers. I met up with a few of my committee members and we walked around the BJC just to get a general layout of the place. Then after about an hour we met up with out dancers again to stretch them. Stretching at least once every hour is very important to keep them from being sore throughout the weekend. The first few hours fly by because everyone is still feeling okay physically and mentally.

However, on hour 6 of my first shift my dancers started to hit a low. They were feeling bogged down and acting kind of slow. So, I took them to play some games with me. My one dancer has never finished a game of monopoly, so we started a game. I was terrible. I would constantly land on the “go to jail” space, it was frustrating. However, it gave my dancers a chance to laugh at me, and then they started to brighten up. Sadly, I had to go off shift, but my overlapping dancer relations committee member took over. Once I was off shift, I allowed myself to be tired as it was 2:00 in the morning. I was exhausted. Trying to stay happy and energetic even when I am exhausted, it’s more difficult than I anticipated. Once I was home I laid down in my bed and I passed out. I then woke up at 6:00 am, for a total of 4 hours of sleep. Overall my first shift was difficult, but also amazing. I am so happy that I was chosen for the DR committee.