My name is Grace Healy and I am a dreamer. I am such a dreamer in fact, that my dream job does not even exist. I grew up in the ballet studio and like a lot of other kids in the same position, I had a lot of trouble with my mental health because of it. Without getting into the depressing details- this taught me that I wanted to go into psychology to become a therapist/counselor for young kids who are like me. I wanted to be a listening ear and a support system for those who did not have one.

Now I know what you are thinking, “A therapist? That job already exists”, which is true. The hard part is the fact that I want to be a dancecounselor. I want to be the counselor specifically for young ballerinas. Except, this is not a job. Since I was fourteen I wanted to be the Counselor for The Washington School of Ballet, but that position does not exist! How am I supposed to be a dance counselor if the position does not exist? That is the hard part.

Even though this position does not exist, I can tell you with confidence that it should. I believe that a psychologist is critical to preserve the mental health of the children that grow up in front of the mirror. So, it looks like I will have to do the grunt work to make this a career-somehow. If I had a counselor when I was growing up, I would have likely not been so scared of something I loved. My plan is to do what I always do: figure it out. I have never tried to invent a career before, but I am going to give it a shot!