Not missing a rehearsal is hard and she knows how to sacrifice to excel. After she gets home from school on Fridays, she rests for an hour then leaves again for rehearsal in Medellin, about half an hour drive from where she lives in El Retiro. From 6 to 9 pm is just dance. While her friends are getting haircuts or going to the movies, she moves, bends, jumps and sweats in the dance studio. After rehearsal, the majority of times she is too tired to go to any party or event with her friends, so she returns home. Fridays are for sacrifice, for dancing.

Many Columbus School students who excel in a sport and follow their passion sacrifice a lot of things in order to chase their dreams. For them, chasing their dreams and passion is their top priority, often pushing aside school and friends.

Amalia Triana: Dancer

“I am already sacrificing a bunch of things to be able to do what I love. For example I can not go to fincas or anything because I have to rehearse all weekend long,” Amalia Triana, 10th grade Columbus School Student, said.

The key to excell in a sport is to practice, and practice requires time. As students constantly practice, they are forced to spend more time on their passion and abandon their free time. But for the students, sacrificing their free time is worth it.

“In January I joined a competition dance crew that has taken me to Cali to compete, where we finished in third place,” Triana said.

The dance floor is not a not a new activity for Triana. Since she was a little girl she has been hooked on dancing and begged her mother to enroll her into classes.

“I began to dance at the age of four, and until today, I continue to do so,” Triana said.

Pablo Gongas: Soccer Player

Passion is a natural thing, it is what drives people into the pursue of dreams, it is what motivates people into taking risks, making sacrifices and prioritizing it before anything else.

“While I play soccer, I feel alive. It is worth it because the feeling you get when you are chasing your dreams is unchangeable,” Pablo Gongas, 11th grade student, said.

For some of these athletes,  passion drives them to the level, going professional. The idea of going professional is not recent, for example, Pablo Gongas has wanted to become a professional soccer player since he was a Little kid.

“I play soccer because is the passion I have and all my life since I was a Little kid I´ve wanted to become a professional soccer player. Soccer it was drives me the most and I would love to do it all my life,” Gongas claimed.

The idea of practice all week is exhausting, Gongas claimed. When the practice field is in Copacabana, 45 minutes away from home, there is no homework time. He arrives home at 10 pm from Copacabana tired and ready to begin with his chores. But to him, those sacrifices are miniscule.

“Everyone must make sacrifices to get where they want to. My friends told me I abandoned my youth and slaved into soccer. Also one of the hardest things was having a girlfriend while training that hard. I had no time to myself,” Gongas said.

Pablo Valencia: Golfer

It is not the goal of all committed students to become professional. For some students their passion is just a hobby, something they want to be skilled in but not do for a living.

“Training golf all day long can be a nightmare. Don’t get me wrong, i love it but it can get to be very stressful,” Pablo Valencia, 10th grade Columbus School student, said.

All of these students at some time have participated in some kind of contest and proved their hard and exhausting training was worth it. The competitions have led all of these students to travel to places and compete nationally and internationally. Valencia went last year to San Diego to compete in a world-wide tournament on which its level was extremely competitive. He did not do so well but according to him, the experience was unique.

“ I was the national champion of the Colombian Golf Tournament, but internationally in a world wide tournament I was not the best,” Valencia stated.

Athletes sacrifice many things in order to achieve their dreams. They know the process to succeed is not easy but the results are worth it. These three Columbus School students have passion and are sacrificing everything in their power to succeed.