Miss Emma loved dance, until she didn’t.

At the age of 14, she loved ballet and danced every day in the studio. Her teachers believed she would become a professional ballerina because she was young, able, and extremely talented.

“I remember that being a ballerina wasn’t always what my eyes were set on,” Emma said. “My goal was to eventually become a teacher.”

But meeting others’ expectations began to wear Emma out, and she lost sight of why she was dancing. She questioned what she wanted out of dance and started to resent going to the studio. The environment became toxic for her, and her health started to decline.

Emma took a year and a half off from dancing. Much of that time was spent resting and figuring out who she was and what she enjoyed doing, apart from dance.

“It was also a time where God needed me to step back,” Emma said. “He had given me this talent and gift to use for others, not just for my own pride of being on stage with my solos.”

One day, Emma realized she missed dancing.

“I know God brought dance back into my heart,” Emma said. “It was like I woke up and felt joy again.”

That day, Emma knew she had to dance again. In January 2017, a week before Emma’s 17th birthday, she sent an email to Miss Erin asking for a job.

“I didn’t even care what the job was,” Emma said. “I told her I’d clean. I just needed to be around dance again.”

Emma had met Miss Erin right before quitting dance, and knew that she had opened Bloom. A few days later, she sat down with Miss Erin, and within hours, was told she could start off by helping with classes.

“I knew right away that Bloom was where I’m supposed to be,” Emma said. “I met so many amazingly talented teachers.”

At first, Emma felt intimidated and battled with self worth. She struggled with being the youngest on staff, and thought she wasn’t good enough to work at Bloom.

But as the weeks and months passed, Emma realized those were lies.

“I never felt sick or stressed,” Emma said. “All these people and workers at Bloom feel like family.”

Bloom is Emma’s first job, and her dream job.

“If you would have told me a few years ago, I’d be living my life’s dreams now as a teenager, I would have laughed in your face,” Emma said. “I didn’t believe I was capable of these things.”

Now, Emma dreams of working with kids in the inner city and traveling to other countries to teach dance.

“Everyone tells me my job is not reality,” Emma laughed. “But it’s a dream come true. Thanks to Bloom, I get to live the dream I had back when I was a little girl.”