Misty Copeland

Misty Copeland was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on September 10, 1982. She had a very hectic family life. With her mother going through many marriages and divorces, Misty had an interesting life. Misty’s mother always looked presentable and showed love to all her children, but throughout the years she had changed to being careless. Eventually, Misty’s mother changed to a better person, once she realized that she had responsibilities that she had to keep. Misty’s real father is Doug. Misty’s three older siblings, her mother, and herself left her father when she was two. Misty did not know him that much. Her mother, later on, got married to a man named Harold. He was very loving and caring for Misty and her siblings. The children loved him, but he was an alcoholic, so Misty’s mother made a hard decision to leave him. Later on, Misty’s mother got married to a man named Robert. Robert was very strict and had an intense way of discipline. To solve issues, he would make the children fight. He also hated how Misty and her family had a darker skin complexion then he did. Misty was Robert’s favorite child because she had the lightest color skin in the family. Misty’s mother made another decision to divorce Robert because he was not the right man for her and her family. She then started to date a guy named Ray. Ray tried to act cool around the kids, but he wasn't. He turned Misty’s mother into her teenage self. Misty’s mother started to get lazy in the result. She broke up with Ray and moved in with her new boyfriend Alex. Alex was not a stable man, who lived in a very small apartment. He ended up losing the apartment, and the whole family had to move into a motel. Misty has three other older siblings and two half-siblings. Her real siblings' names are Doug Jr., Erica, and Chris. Her half-siblings are Lindsey and Cameron. Lindsey’s father is Harold and Cameron’s father is Robert. Doug Jr. and Chris were very supportive brothers to Misty, and they spent a lot of time with her. Erica was another supportive member of the family. She was on the drill team with Misty and was very caring. Lindsey and Misty were pretty close too. Lindsey would always call Misty when she was at Harold’s house. Cameron was her youngest sibling. When Cameron had to start staying with Robert more often because Robert did not want him staying in a motel, Misty really missed him. Misty would teach him dances and had a really good time with him.

Misty also loved dance at the time, but could not pursue her dream because the dance studio was too far from the motel. Her dance teacher (Cindy) begged Misty’s mother for Misty to come live with them. Misty’s mother allowed it. Cindy was sort of like a second mother to her. She was very positive and always influenced Misty to do her greatest. She believed that Misty was special and that Misty could do great things in the future if she tried to. Misty’s family did not like Cindy because they thought she was taking advantage of Misty’s talent. Cindy’s husband was also very nice. He always supported Misty and her dreams. Cindy had a three-year-old son named Wolf. Wolf loved Misty and she was very close with him.   

Between, traveling from place to place and her mother’s many relationships, Misty had some very interesting moments that stand out in her childhood and teen years. For instance, she was asked by her dance teacher to come live with her because she believed that Misty had a lot of potentials. That shows that Misty has a chance to achieve her dancing goals because someone sees how good she is. Misty also was at a dance competition and won five thousand dollars! This leads her to greater achievements, like being asked to join many dance studios at just the age of 15 from the different studios seeing her amazing talent. How cool is that?

There were also many obstacles that Misty had to overcome to be where she is now. Being the least experienced dancer when she went to San Francisco Ballet, given that she started a little later than all of the other dancers, it was challenging for Misty to keep up. She practiced and practiced and got better and better. Misty was soon an outstanding dancer because she found a way to overcome her challenge.

Misty has an amazing talent, which makes her a very special person. She is a dancer, but not just any dancer. Misty is a dancer who fights for what she wants to achieve. “So, when I got their rejection letter, Cindy’s analysis was stark. They didn’t want me because I was black” (Copeland 98). Misty didn’t let this comment stop her from pursuing her dreams! She fought very hard and is now an outstanding dancer. No matter what the circumstances are, Misty believes she can do it. Misty Copeland could be considered a hero to some because she was the first African American to become a principal dancer in a dance community where there are not many African American dancers. She fought for her dreams to later become an amazing dancer. An important highlight of Misty’s life is that even though she had a crazy family life, she was able to pursue her dreams. While moving from place to place, she figured out how to accomplish her goals in any condition.