A lot of people understand the pain of injuries. The emotional pain of being limited to do the activities you love can be one of the hardest things to cope with. However, this is not the case for Rachel Schuster.

At the age of ten, Schuster was told she had arthritis. Due to her condition, she was very [media-credit id=9 align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]limited in sports. She took the opportunity to try something new, dance. Schuster eventually grew to love dance and has been dancing competitively for five years and counting.

Schuster dances competitively year-round. She dances many different genres, including  jazz, tap, hip-hop, ballet, and contemporary. Dancing is not the only thing Schuster enjoys on her free time. She volunteers to teach kids dance at Captivating Dance by Nona.

“My favorite part of dance is getting lost in the music. I’m able to express things I normally wouldn’t be able to verbally,” said Schuster.