I always felt like I had a dual life.
After school, I'd go home and change for ballet class
and I'd be there from 5.30 to 7.
And depending on if there were rehearsals,
we could go as late as 10 o'clock.
And I would get home at 10 and just start studying at that time
and sleep at 2 a.m. every morning
and then wake up at 6 a.m. to go to school.
It was like, that was like, it became the new normal.
My full name is Anna Montserrat Senko Guerrero
and my nickname is Monsi.
I'm 21.
I'm from the Philippines.
I'm enrolled in Barnard College, majoring in economics.
For ballet, I study at Valentina Koslova's
Dance Conservatory of New York
and I'm currently a pre-professional ballerina
and contemporary dancer.
When I got here, I realized that so many of these kids,
they don't do school.
They're just home school.
If you want to be a professional ballerina,
no one goes to ordinary school.
All my friends, they would always hang out on Fridays,
go to the mall, whatever.
Everyone was doing stuff.
And sometimes I'd feel left out
because I always had rehearsals.
I wish I could join them and stuff.
I consider myself a perfectionist.
I think that's why I always have to push myself
and I won't settle for just mediocre work.
I think that's also what pushes me in both ballet and academics
even if it stresses me out.
I just have to.
God has factored in a lot
because you realize if you just pray a Hail Mary
or pray to the Holy Spirit,
then even when you think that you can't do those 10 pages,
then you finally do it and it just feels like the best thing.
I guess I've been training for so long
that I want to eventually get an offer,
a really good ballet company,
but also I know that there are just a lot of dancers out there as well
and there are not enough contracts to offer.
I mean, that's the reality.
If nothing happens next year,
I would love to work in research for public policy
or any of those jobs that are related to the economy.
Plan A would be ballet.
Plan B would be the economy.
I think if I just chose one,
I would be choosing only one part of me.
Both together make me who I am
and I don't know how life would be if I just chose one,
like if I was just dancing for good.
And I don't know how life would be.
I don't know.
