Ballerina, Graduate, Survivor & Mom - Rachel Hultquist

Often times when we, as humans, meet people we have a categorization system where we determine how that particular person will be filtered in our lives, such as a friend, love interest, stranger or even a business partner. Rachel and I met through social media while we were both ambassadors for a shoe company (BANGS), placing her in a coworker category. However, after our first real life encounter my brain began to rethink the categories we place people into. Between the text conversations and family outings, I began to learn more about the woman who took on so many roles in her life and I realized that these categories I was placing people in was irrelevant. She is a person whose positivity, strength, wisdom and comforting nature gave me the opportunity to open my eyes. So instead of saying I would like to introduce you to my friend, role model and therapist, I will start with: here is an inspirational person who you and others should be exposed to.

Photographer's Instagram - @lmsorenson

BALLERINA

Visiting a ballet performance is a wonderful experience for those sitting in the audience, but Rachel was able to give a greater insight of the beauty and struggle of the life of a ballerina. There are pressures applied to the body of a ballerina and the talent of the individual. Body image is a popular issue with people around the world, but to have your body on display for a countless number of people, as a ballerina, is a feat unlike any other. After the birth of her son, Sam, she has felt a harsher body image pressure, but is able to use the accomplishments of a big, beautiful jump to combat any sort of disregard to her own body. There are days where she wants to quit because of the physical pain and the overwhelming mental obstacles she must overcome, but then she is able to recall why she is a dancer. Ballet is not just a performance for her it's "[her] life and [her] body and [her] art" that she is allowing her audience to be a part of. She is able to be the physical manifestation of music which is something she sees as being incredibly moving. The strength she feels during a large leap and an adagio (slow balance parts where your leg is held high for long periods of time) is what makes being a part of the ballet company, Northwest Florida Ballet, all worth it to Rachel.

GRADUATE

Intelligence sprouting from formal education, as well as, life experience is something that Rachel was able to experience from her time attending Colorado University Boulder. Completing a single bachelor’s degree in any discipline is a triumph of its own, but she decided to take it a step further and double major in English Literature and Russian Studies. Upon graduation, not only was she inducted into the Russian Language Honors Society, but she also received Cum Laude in her English Degree for her exceptional thesis, written in only three months opposed to the typical seven months. The summer between her sophomore and junior year, Rachel attended study abroad in the city of St. Petersburg, Russia. She attributes her time in St. Petersburg as one of the top experiences in her life that has shaped who she is. The formal education she gained within her study aboard experience was classes in grammar, syntax, literature and accent at the Smolniy Institute. On her days away from class, she and her fellow classmates took cultural excursions within St. Petersburg, Moscow, Valaam Island and Old Novgorod. Rachel has gained so much acumen from her favorite place in the world and she feels as if she was "meant to live there and be a part of the language and the culture and the food." During her time there, she grew a greater appreciation for the art within the Russian culture and gained a connection to the superstition and spirituality that is a part of everyday life in Russia. Her educational experiences, both abroad and stateside, has given her a new way of interacting with people and having a curiosity and acknowledgement for the world around her.

SURVIVOR

“I believe in kindness and magic and that’s what I want the world to look like,” is what Rachel believes, even after her traumatic experiences in life. From the start of age six, Rachel has encountered sexual assault in different forms that has led her to having a view of life that many can learn from. The advice people give after sexual assaults are normally those that encourage a person to not let their pain from sexual assault, physical and mental, define them, but Rachel sees a beauty in the intertwining of a person’s sexual assault and who they are as a person. From her experiences with sexual assault, she has interacted with people she would not have met otherwise and has even became a Prose Editor for an online journal dedicated to recognizing women’s pain in the aftermath of assault called Persephone's Daughters. Instead of allowing such heavy encounters to weigh her down negatively, she is using her pain to create a beautiful philosophy on life and encouraging other women, who have been through similar experiences, to grow. Even though she has gone through her trials in life, her above accomplishments prove she has chosen to turn her life into a beautiful journey.

MOM/WIFE/READER

In her free time, Rachel enjoys time with her sweet family and loves to get lost in books. Alex, her husband, is currently an officer in the Air Force and her son, Sam, is her biggest support system. The most important people in her life are her chosen family of Alex, Sam and his family, and her best friend, Grace. When you enter Rachel's home or open her Instagram, you will see that she surrounds herself with books. Books for her are a sense of escape, as well as, relaxation and mediation. She has always felt that books are a way to make her feel understood when she has gone through times of loneliness. Even though she uses her favorite books to reveal magic to herself, the people around her view her as their magic.

Rachel’s energy she put into our first coffee date and her openness throughout our conversations, allowed me to ditch the categories and free flow into a relationship that needs no labels. You don’t have to be afraid to blur the lines of these categories we place people in. If you see someone at your local coffee shop that stands out for any reason to you, ignore your categorization of a stranger and ask them to sit and speak with you. The categories we place people in are preventing us from truly getting to grow and learn from and with another person. I want to challenge you to find one person sitting alone or walking alone on each week of this month and learn about them. It may not be the greatest friend connection of all time, but by putting yourself out there you never know who you could find.

If you are interested in helping her continue her life as a ballerina, be sure to check out her GoFundMe and leave a few dollars or a whole lot of dollars!