Amanda Calkins As A Role Model

Amanda Calkins is someone that very few people would consider a role model. A twenty one year old girl in culinary school who doesn’t have much to her name other than a beat up yellow volkswagen beetle, a cat named Dinah, and her weekly pack of marlboro red cigarettes that she carries around in her black leather purse. She is always running late, constantly swearing, and has the most unpredictable temper. Her skin is white as the snow, and her edgy black shaggy hair frames her face giving off a very mysterious look. Tattoos and piercings cover her rawboned and angular body, and her baggy clothes make her look all skin and bones. She is a very independent woman who doesn’t let the thoughts of anyone else interfere with her life and has always seemed to have a craving for rebellion and adventure.

I have taken weekly dance classes from Amanda for five years now and even with all of her faulty personality traits, she is still someone who inspires me greatly. She plays a very large role in my life and has not only taught and inspired me to be a great dancer, but she has taught me life lessons as well.

If you asked me why or how she inspires me, I don’t think I would be able to answer that. I am not sure what exactly it was that first made her a big role model in my life but for some strange reason she is always the person that pops into my mind when thinking about influential people in my life. I don’t know how long it took me to realize that she truly does care about her dance students or how long it took me to really crack the shield she puts up to cover her emotions. I do know one instance where I learned that she does care about me.

It was a regular saturday hip hop class my sophomore year in high school when I really started t...

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...rrors was to have confidence, and to learn from my mistakes. I gained confidence from her advice and continue to take her classes to this day.

Her belief in me even when I couldn’t believe in myself is what has made me really strive to become the best that I can be. It would have been easy for me to just give up on dance but Amanda was never the type of person that would take the easy way out, and she showed me how to do the same. I worked harder than I had ever worked before, and ended up getting the turn perfect by recital time. It was a very proud moment for myself. In her own stubborn way, Amanda has shared many valuable lessons with me. Lessons of perseverance, courage and the most important lesson of all; believing in yourself. She may not be a role model in other respects, but Amanda Calkins does not give up, making me strive every day to live by her example.