Isn’t it crazy that the famous dancer Charli Damelio, started her fame just off of one tiktok dance back in 2019 as a Sophomore in high school? For Nahima, that same moment came for her as she saw the Leydenettes light up the floor her sophomore year. Inspired by their performance, she auditioned and was awarded being on the JV team! She is now in her final year dancing with the same excitement that first captured her attention.  Nahima Aguilera, senior at West Leyden High School, speaks about the awakening of something new that came her way. Dance. She shares her experiences as well as sharing what a true Leydenette is all about.  Nahima is a woman with big pride, big smiles and a big heart. Becoming a dancer wasn’t necessarily on her bingo card but “when I first fell in love with dance, it was during my sophomore year. It was media day for wrestling season, and we were next to the dance team. I sat down with their competition costumes. And it wasn’t really the fact that they got to wear costumes, but the fact that it all looked like they had a really good friendship, like they had a really nice bond, and everyone was just like, it felt like a big family more than just like a regular team. And that’s where really that’s what really interested me into joining, into trying to dance” finishes Nahima.  Now to be fair, we have all had our fair shares of making mistakes and we are grown enough to fix them. Every dancer is nervous before performing but for her, she goes on with  “a time that I forgot my routine was actually last year when I had to try out for the team again. Um, I was super nervous, because I saw a lot of girls, and I saw how good they were, and it got, it really got to me, and I got nervous. And when the time for me to dance in front of the coaches was like, my brain just forgot the entire dance, and I couldn’t think, and I just stood there. And then they gave me a second chance, and when I felt that it was gonna happen again, I just improvised. I, like I did my own moves on the dance. I had a little of my own spice.” She has been in this team for over 2 years, many people tend to get nervous before performances. Completely normal. Standing tall and proud, she speaks confidently on how she handles those situations. She goes on with “before performances, I gather my team, and I just like to try to be as positive as I can. I try to cheer them up. I try to push all negative thoughts aside, because that is our moment to shine. And I will say that’s how I prepare physically. It’s just I try to stay as like, stretch as much as possible, like I try to stretch and everything so I can avoid, like, having injuries or anything. But mentally, I just, I’m always trying to be as positive as I can. I tried to talk to the girls when they first started for the season, a lot of the girls were having really strong emotions, and then they were forgetting to dance. So I will go up to them and I will talk to them and tell them like it’s gonna be okay. You’re gonna do great. Be positive, like you got this. This is your first time dancing, and this is your moment to shine. So don’t be afraid. Like we’re on a team, so we’re here to support you if anything happens.” Nahima shows true leadership and what it’s like being a good friend to her teammates. But guess what. Those same people helping others also have their bad days too.  “When I personally have a bad day, I still go to practice. Because, like I said, we’re a team, and whatever I do, like, if I decide not to go to practice, it affects all of us. I try to, like, give my best, even if I’m feeling really down or I just had a really bad day. I try to talk to my teammates, and I try to be as positive as I can. I try to be as bright and positive and open minded. So I try not to think only about me, but I also think about the girls and about the team and about the coach and how we all have bad days and like we’ll still give our best,”  she states.  As future years start approaching,many, many, many new members will be joining Leydenettes, for Nahmia she loves the joy, loves the love, and loves to see this sport being a family. She comes to terms that she wants to leave with being “a role model, like, I don’t want them to think that just because we have a uniform and we look cute, we don’t succeed academically, because sometimes that’s a misconception. Just because you have a pretty uniform, it means you don’t have a brain or anything. I want people to know that even if you don’t have any experienceno one’s gonna judge you. Everyone is always going to be there for you.” Slowly closing her chapter, she shares the one song that gave her that boost in confidence, that shocking turning point, that boost of energy and most importantly, the consistency of her love in being a Leydenette.  “It was the Thunderstruck. It was my junior year. It was for basketball season. At the end of the season, we danced to that, that song, and it was, it was just the energy. It felt like, I don’t know, it just felt like, because if we danced to the song when it first saw, when the DCC show came out the second season, we danced to it, and honestly, it felt like I was one of them, like it did not feel real. It was just everything. It was flowing like the way it was supposed to. And it was like the energy in the gym was really really motivating. Honestly, that’s what kind of motivated me to keep dancing, even though sometimes I will be tired. That’s kind of what made me that special” Nahima ends with. It’s hard trying newer things, especially ones you’ve never had experience with, but for Nahima Aguilera, she shines brighter than a diamond and takes her journey through all the stars. Nahima showed determination, growth, guidance, responsibility and most importantly leadership. She ends her chapter with great pride, and will forever see her team as a family.