There’s a very specific feeling when the music starts and you stop thinking about everything else. That’s probably what I like most about dancing. I do hip-hop and high heels, which are completely different moods but somehow both make sense to me. Hip-hop gives me the freedom to be messy, energetic and just move without worrying too much about how it looks. High heels are the opposite — every movement feels deliberate, and confidence becomes part of the choreography. I like that difference. Sometimes I want something sharp and controlled, sometimes I just want to turn the music up and stop caring about anything for a while. Dancing is probably the closest thing I have to pressing an actual reset button. No lectures, no opinions, no trying to understand people. Just music, movement and trying not to forget the choreography halfway through.

Give me the right song and I can become a completely different person in about five seconds. There are songs that make me want to dance around my room like nobody is watching, songs that instantly make me feel confident, and songs that somehow make even getting ready for university feel like a scene from a music video. I don’t think music has to be deep to matter. Sometimes you just need a good beat and the right mood. That’s probably why I never understood people who listen to the same playlist for months without changing anything. My music depends on the day, the weather, what I’m wearing and, occasionally, absolutely nothing at all. One minute I’m thinking about university and pretending to be responsible, the next I’m practicing a dance combination in front of a mirror. Honestly, both versions of me are equally real.

My schedule is a little backwards compared to most people. I study political science in the second shift, so my days don’t really begin when everyone else’s do. While some people are already finishing their plans for the day, I’m usually just getting into mine. I actually like it this way. There’s something nice about having a slow morning before the world gets too loud. Studying political science also means I end up paying attention to things I probably wouldn’t notice otherwise — why people think the way they do, how opinions change, and how two people can look at exactly the same situation and come away with completely different conclusions. I don’t pretend to have an answer for everything, though. Half the fun is realizing how much there is left to figure out. Outside university, I have a much less serious way of spending my time: music on, heels on, and suddenly I’m much more interested in dancing than international politics.

Studying political science has probably made me worse at casual arguments, because now I can see at least three sides to almost anything. Someone says something confidently and my first thought is usually, “okay, but what if we look at it differently?” I’m not even necessarily trying to argue. I just genuinely find it interesting how quickly people become certain about things that are actually pretty complicated. Sometimes I’ll hear two people disagreeing and secretly start building arguments for both of them in my head. It’s probably an annoying habit. The funny part is that I don’t think changing your mind is a weakness. If someone gives me a good enough reason, I’m perfectly capable of saying, “yeah, you’re right.” I’d rather have an interesting conversation where nobody completely wins than a boring one where everyone just agrees.