To Be Like Katie free essay sample

I met Katie on her first birthday. She was 29 days older than me, which at the time seemed significant. We shared a babysitter, so while Katies parents examined X-rays and mine developed pizzas, Katie and I spent a blissful three years coloring pictures of the Lion King and forming a lifelong friendship. Katie made our babysitter laugh, did one-handed cartwheels, and solemnly swore to me that she knew everything. As the years passed and my admiration grew, I began equating my friend with perfection. Even my mother joined in. â€Å"Katie never argues with her parents!† she would cry, exasperated by my latest temper tantrum. â€Å"Cant you be more like her?† In an attempt to grant my mothers wishes, I began duplicating Katies every move. I played with her tea set, I mastered her computer games, and I ate her favorite foods. When Katie took Creative Movement at the local modern dance studio, I begged my mother to sign me up. We will write a custom essay sample on To Be Like Katie or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I thought the class was my latest chance to become my idol, not knowing that amid the leotards and plies, I would find not Katie, but myself. Looking back 14 years later, I realize I may have discovered dance in some other way. Perhaps my body was genetically destined to jete and ronde de jambe, and fate would have guided me into the studio. Regardless, following Katie to Creative Movement was an odd, life-changing decision. Everyone expected me to quit after a few months, but I surprised them all by performing in the recital and eagerly signing up for another year. Preschool and kindergarten came and went, Katie and I started first grade at separate schools, and I continued dancing my little heart out for an hour every week, my bare feet leaping across the wooden floors of Oddfellows Hall. The next year, Katie traded tights for shin guards. Even though everyone expected me to follow her from dance to soccer, I didnt. I still worshipped my childhood friend, but I wouldnt quit even if I received my idols scorn. As the years passed, Katie wasnt my only dance casualty: I didnt quit dance for ski team or softball either. Basketball, piano lessons, track – they all fell by the wayside when they conflicted with my true passion. I had found a place where I truly belonged. Katie and I dont see each other very much anymore. Ive never thanked her for leading me to dance, and honestly, I doubt she remembers. For her, dance is a half-lost memory of pink skirts and monotonous exercises, something to laugh about. But for me, what began as an hour-per-week hobby has grown into a full-time pursuit; I have taken five dance classes a week, including four hours every Saturday, for the last three years. Although I cant say Ive loved every minute of it, Im endlessly thankful for the opportunity to pursue modern dance. Twelve years after my first plie, I proudly walked into my first advanced dance class and silently thanked my childhood friend. Katie may no longer be part of my life, but she will always shine in my heart as the best and most influential friend I ever had. I did not  ­become Katie; I did not achieved perfection; and I certainly cannot claim to know everything. Instead, with Katies guidance, I found something better: myself.