Tuesday, July 15 was by far been the hardest day of finals week so far. It was BOOT CAMP time! I had absolutely no idea what to expect because I had never done a boot camp before, but let me tell you, I would never have been able to imagine it could ever be as hard as it was. This was literally the longest most intense 3 hours of my life. I definitely had no clue what a real workout was until I went through it!

I could tell everyone around me was a little nervous because none of us knew what was coming…Words cant even begin to describe what boot camp felt like, but if I were to sum up the first hour I would say WOW, OH MY GOD! We started off with some light jogging in place, jumping jacks, and before I knew it, it just became harder and harder and harder. It was non-stop moving for an hour straight and it felt like it was never-ending. Starting off wasn’t so bad, but as it built up my heart started pounding and I was breathing very heavy. I had no idea I was capable of sweating that much! It was probably about 20 minutes into it that all the girls started to really feel it. I had to put myself in a zone and literally talk to myself to get through it and to keep pushing. For the entire hour all of us were cheering each other on to keep going. All I could hear was, “Come on girls, you can do it…Keep pushing…Keep breathing…We can do this!!”, and it was that support that kept us all going. It was almost like we all became one, because if one girl slowed down, or put her leg down, or someone’s arms gave out, or someone’s legs weren’t high enough, the trainers would make us go longer. It really made us come together as a team.

As it came close to the end of the hour, all I could feel were my legs burning, my heart racing, and my arms pulsing. I had never felt like this before. The intensity of the first hour of boot camp was overpowering. I had no idea my body could reach the point of agony that it did. As the trainers started to count down, I realized that I made it through till the end, the very last second! I couldn’t believe it! I think it was definitely the support from everyone cheering each other on, and literally pushing myself to the limit and giving it everything that I had down to the very last bit. Once we finished I can honestly say that my legs felt like jello and I couldn’t feel them. I was struggling to walk for a few minutes after we were done. Now I understand when people say that it is mind over matter…That hour definitely tops the charts as the most difficult, most intense and rigorous hour I have ever been through. I just couldn’t believe I got through it, but I did it and so did all the other girls. I was so proud of everyone!!

The last 2 hours of boot camp consisted of dancing. We had a guest choreographer come in to teach a master class. This class was awesome! I have never seen a guy move the way he did…He was incredible! His style was true hip-hop. The choreography that we learned was a slower version of hip-hop, which made you really have to feel the music. I loved the choreography and the few times that he did it by himself as we watched, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. It was an amazing master class with some hard-core deep and emotional hip-hop. I felt so lucky to have been able to take a class by such a talented dancer.

By the time the last hour rolled around, I was truly fighting for energy. Star, a choreographer and past Hawks Dancer, taught us a short routine for the sidelines that we will have to perform on Saturday for finals. I LOVED the choreography! Although it was short and only about 4 counts of 8, it was still fast. At this point my energy was running on empty, but I didn’t give up and kept pushing. The only thing I kept repeating to myself over and over in my head was how badly I want this! I was not going to give up, and until the very last minute I gave it everything that I had.

Boot Camp was finally over. Those 3 hours felt like eternity but I did it - we all did it! I had absolutely no feeling in my body, but I was so proud of everyone for making it through until the end. The positive energy was great and we got through it together, as a team. I really proved to myself that I could push myself to the limit even while running on empty. It was a true test for me and it is pretty awesome to be able to say that I made it and really gave it everything I had even though I could barely feel my body at the end. We made it through boot camp…WE DID IT TOGETHER!