Eliana Swindle

BOISE STATE MANE LINE DANCER. FUTURE SPORTS MEDIA PROFESSIONAL.

My name is Eliana Swindle, and I am from Orange County, California. I moved to Boise after graduating in 2024 to attend Boise State, where I am studying Media Communications with an emphasis in social media. I am a sophomore academically, and I am also a first-year member of the Boise State Mane Line dance team.

Right now, I am really focused on building a career that combines my two biggest passions: media and movement. Dance and sports have shaped so much of who I am, and I have always known I want them to be a part of my future. Movement makes me feel confident, grounded, and fully myself. Media gives me the opportunity to tell stories and stay connected to the sports world. I am working toward a career where I do not have to choose between those passions, but instead allow them to grow together.

What People Usually Focus On

When people look at my life right now, they usually focus on making the dance team, especially after not making it the first time I tried out. Reauditioning after being cut was honestly one of the most humbling and challenging experiences I have ever had. It would have been easier to walk away, but I knew how badly I wanted it.

Making it the second time was not just about earning a spot on the team. It was about proving to myself that rejection is not the end of the story. It taught me resilience and discipline in a way that instant success never could. That milestone means so much to me because it represents growth, not just achievement.

A Path Discovered

I have been dancing since I was 2, so dance has always been a part of my life. But dancing in college became a real goal toward the end of my sophomore year of high school. That is when I started going to clinics at different schools and getting a feel for what the collegiate dance world was really like.

Once I committed to Boise State in January of my senior year, everything became more focused. I was not just training to be better at dance in general. I was specifically preparing for the Boise State dance team. That shift made the dream feel real. It went from something I hoped for to something I was actively working toward every single day.

Patience and Growth

One thing that required more patience than I expected was learning hip hop later in my training. I was never normally trained in that style growing up, so stepping into it felt uncomfortable at first. I honestly thought it would come a little easier because I have been dancing for so long.

Instead, it humbled me. It took a lot of repetition, extra classes, and many moments where I did not feel fully confident. I am still learning how to feel strong and secure in that style, but that process has taught me growth isn’t always instant, even when you have experience.

Progress did not look glamorous. It looked like showing up on the days I did not feel motivated at all. It looked like drilling choreography over and over again, even when I felt behind. It looked like choosing discipline over emotion.

My biggest support has always been my family, but they are states away from me. Their love and encouragement were constant, but it was from afar. There were definitely moments where I felt alone in the process and had to learn how to motivate myself when no one was watching.

Last year really built my discipline because I wanted to be on this team so badly. I knew I was not going to magically become great at hip hop overnight. So I focused on getting a little bit better every single day, even if it was small and even if no one else could see it. For me, progress was not about suddenly feeling amazing. It was about trusting that consistent effort would add up. Now, after a full football season full of hip hop, I am just starting to really see that consistency show up. I feel more confident, more comfortable, and more secure in a style that once felt so unfamiliar. And that makes all the hard days worth it.

Internal Battles

The hardest internal battle I had to navigate was believing I was good enough. After not making the team the first time, I lost a lot of confidence in myself as a dancer and a person. For a while, I truly thought that moment was going to define me and define the start of this new chapter in my life. I let one result make me question my ability, my talent, and even my worth.

There were definitely moments where I seriously questioned myself and my direction. I questioned if I had overestimated my abilities or if maybe I just was not meant for that level. But looking back now, that rejection was not the end, it was redirection and refinement.

One of the biggest things that helped me move forward was remembering why I came to Boise State in the first place. I came here for an education. Dance was never supposed to be my entire identity. It was something I loved deeply, but it was not the only thing that made me who I am. Realizing that I had so much more to offer than just gave me freedom. It allowed me to separate my worth from one audition result.

Gratitude also played a huge role. I started focusing on how lucky I was to even be at a university out of state, building independence, meeting new people, and chasing big goals. I reminded myself that I could still love Boise, grow here, and thrive here with or without the dance team. Once I stopped attaching my happiness to one outcome, everything shifted. I was able to work from a place of confidence instead of fear.

Pressure and Mental Skills

The first time I tried out, I felt a lot of external pressure. Everyone at my studio, school, my family, and my friends knew I was trying out. It felt like so many people were watching and expecting a certain outcome. The hardest part was having to tell people I did not make it.

The second time I tried out, the pressure looked different. It was more internal and self-imposed. I had something to prove, mostly to myself. I knew that deep down I was always capable of making the team, I just had to grow, put in the work, and approach it differently. That internal pressure pushed me, but I had to learn how to manage it in a healthy way. I learned to manage it by focusing on what I could control. My effort, my mindset, and my preparation. I stopped trying to perform for other people’s expectations and started dancing for the reason I fell in love with it in the first place. Once I returned to that foundation, the pressure felt less overwhelming and more like motivation.

During the chapter of training, resilience was probably the biggest mental skill I had to lean on. After not making the team, it would have been easy to step back and accept it, or let that result define me. Instead, I had to keep showing up, even when I felt discouraged. That resilience built slowly through consistency and small daily choices.

Identity flexibility was another huge one for me. I had to separate who I am from whether or not I made a team. Dance has always been a big part of my life, but I had to remind myself that it is something I do, not all that I am. Reframing failure completely changed my perspective. I stopped seeing not making the team as proof that I was not good enough. Instead, I saw it as information.

Emotional regulation also played a big role. There were moments of disappointment, comparison, and frustration, especially while learning a new style like hip hop. I had to learn to manage those emotions instead of letting them control my effort. Self accountability was huge too. No one was forcing me to train harder or take extra classes. That choice was mine. And it took courage and vulnerability to admit where I was weak and actively work on it. I had to be honest with myself without being cruel.

Shifting Relationship with Failure

I have honestly taken the word failure out of my vocabulary. It is all about how you frame it. I truly believe you either win or you learn. There is always something to gain, even if it isn't the outcome you wanted.

Growing up, my mom would always tell me, “Now you learned what to do.” That stuck with me. Every setback became a lesson instead of a label and not making the team was not a failure. It was feedback and it showed me what I needed to work more on and how I worked on those things were up to me.

Now, I see challenges as part of the process rather than something that threatens my identity. That shift has made me braver. I am more willing to try, to risk, and put myself out there because I know no matter what happens, I will either succeed or grow.

Mindset Shifts and Gratitude

The biggest mindset shift that made a noticeable difference was gratitude. During the process, gratitude helped me stay grounded. But now, being on the team, it feels even stronger. Every day I go to practice, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for my teammates and coaches. They truly feel like a gift and if waiting a year was what it took to be in this exact position, then it was completely worth it.

Key Reflections

A belief you had to unlearn: You can only make a collegiate team as a freshman
A moment you almost quit: Right after I didn’t make the team, I thought I never wanted to dance again and that my dance career was over
One mental habit you rely on now: Remembering why I started dancing
Strength means ___ to you now: Being courageous and not letting outside opinions determine what you do
One thing people underestimate about success: That it happens on the first try. It often takes many attempts and setbacks to get to where you want to be, but every struggle gives you more knowledge and resilience than success coming easily ever could

When I think about the milestone I am living now, the strength I wish people understood better is that you are not limited to one success. Life offers so much more than just succeeding once at one thing. Through this journey, I have discovered that success can come in many forms like learning more about myself, making new friends, finding balance, and growing in ways I never expected. Since making the dance team, there have been so many small victories along the way. Moments where I pushed through fear, tried something new, or simply showed up for myself, that I sometimes forget because I have been so focused on that one big goal. But those small wins matter. They are what build resilience, confidence, and joy. They remind me that growth is a journey, not a moment. Celebrating them has taught me to be kinder to myself, to notice progress even when it feels quiet, and to trust that each step forward is meaningful.