The Empath’s Wish is a piece about my struggle with being an overly empathetic person. I struggle with caring about other people’s feelings and investing time and energy into their struggles more than my own. This dance shows empathy from a different lens and how it can break someone down. The dancer in red is the empath, personifying my experiences as she gives all her love, support, and energy to lift other people up. Oftentimes this action of empathy does not get the recognition and appreciation that it deserves, so this dance takes a more optimistic approach, where the other dancers return the help they received, which is the empath’s wish (I do not own the rights to this music).

I create art to express myself and make my emotions and beliefs visible. Creating art, whether it be visual or performing art, allows me to relax and submerge myself into my creative process. In this piece, my goal is to create an environment where the viewer is feeling the way I feel in a panic attack. I have diagnosed anxiety and struggle with panic attacks in stressful situations. I am also a Christian and it is an important part of who I am. I want to tell a story of myself having a panic attack then finding peace and strength in God through prayer and supplication. I hope that this piece serves as a testimony of my recurring experience to others and intrigues them to learn more. The movement in this piece is inspired by real feelings I experience and real gestures and fidgeting I do when I am experiencing a panic attack. As the piece goes on, I pray to God and He gives me peace and strength to go back into the real world. My movement becomes more graceful and fluid, extending outward and upward instead of in and closed-off (I do not own the rights to this music). Philippians 4:6 — "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."