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Personal Narrative: The International Jugglers Association

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I am a juggler. For as long as I’ve juggled, I’ve dreamt of competing at the International Jugglers Association (IJA) stage. Where others saw engineering, math, and science, I saw that stage. My fascination with juggling and the way people worked with their props and music brought me to Quebec City in 2015 as a part of our 16 person Ultimate Club. Here I was, participating in the IJA Teams Stage Championships. For practice in Quebec, we were stuck in a small room in an old church to practice, I remained enthusiastic.The ceiling was painfully low, and seriously hindered our ability to rehearse. We had to relocate twice. Morale was going down. Time and time again I reminded myself and those around me of that famous phrase "Great effort leads to great rewards," and sure enough, soon my aspirations began to be met. Competition night tested our rehearsals and our teamwork. We were closing the first act …show more content…

I joined Jugheads Youth Juggling Company the summer before third grade. I was shy. I hid behind my mother’s legs, peeking out into a room filled with people throwing things around. It was intimidating. That was the summer I learned how to juggle three balls. That school year, I picked up rings and clubs, and broke my wrist unicycling. The next summer, I learned to juggle four. As a new juggler, I constantly looked for videos to watch. I watched competitions constantly, kept juggling myself. To me, these routines were an incredible source of inspiration. At Jugheads, we had other students, called assistants, mentor us. These students were high school students, and yet they taught us how to juggle. From them I learned perseverance and overcoming frustration. These student leaders left a lasting impact on me. They took significant chunks of time out of their lives to teach children years younger than them. As soon as I was able, I asked to become one as well. I started volunteering teaching third to fifth

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