HERRIMAN – Darianna Faria Guerrero is a junior at Herriman High School who has a passion for dancing and school. Guerrero has been dancing since she was a toddler, her love for dancing is incomparable. She joined the Dance Company for the 2023-2024 school and it has made her attempt to balance her whole life.
Junior year brings in all kinds of stressors–ACT, college admissions, and the transition into almost adulthood. But Guerrero is still excited for this 2023-2024 school year.“The new beginnings I can see with Dance Company, meeting new people, and college prep.” LIA (Latinos in Action) is her favorite class and heightened her excitement even more “I’m the new Vice President this year, and I’m really excited for the ideas that we can bring and all the new people.” But just like with any other year there are worries, “I’m definitely worried I’m not going to have a social life, like not being able to do as much as I would want to, trying to balance everything,” she said.
Being a part of school-sanctioned sports can be considered difficult and can affect a lot of aspects of life. Relationships and grades can be impacted by the sheer amount of time spent with that sport. The school experience can be affected as a whole by your sport. Even with school just starting, Guerrero’s experience has already been altered, “Dance Company is one of those things where you have to be there early before school and making sure I get to class on time after practice.” Guerrero has already had to cancel plans with friends and shifts at work which shows her dedication to her sport. When asked about how her relationships have been impacted, she said, “It could go either way, it could strengthen relationships with others or it could weaken them by me not seeing them as often or me not being able to make plans as often because Dance Co. does require a lot of attention.”
Guerrero’s whole junior year is going to be a little different than how she planned with the addition of being on Dance Company. Looking at how Dance Co. might affect her whole junior year, she said, “I feel like it will do some good, I feel like it will be challenging at the start with school, work, homework, family, and Dance Co. but I feel like it will help but also be challenging.” Some of her plans have to change and be flexible so that she can continue to do what she loves while also maintaining the priority of school. Her Dance Co. teacher said, “It goes school, Dance Co., and everything else.” Guerrero does have her worries, but she is confident that this year will go well even with everything on her plate. She is excited about the challenge that Dance Company will bring her and to continue her passion for dancing and learning.
