"I'm crazy! Of course I'm not going to study dance!"

I was a software engineer for seven years. I went to college to study computer science. But for the longest time I'd had this passion for dancing, and I was really good at it since I was young. An engineer is the thing you're going to do because that's what your dad was, right? I thought, I'm really good at math, so let's do that. Even though I remember wanting to choose dance as a major for a split second I thought, "I'm crazy. Of course I'm not going to study dance! I'm not going all the way to the United States just to do that!"

So I had to choose the right thing, the logical thing, which was computer science. So I did, and I was really good at it. But, you know, even one year into it I was like, "Oh wait a minute, this is so strange. I don't feel like I belong here." And it took me five, six years to realize that I really didn't belong there.

"Dancing came back to my life."

My typical day in my engineering job I would be at my desk and had very little interaction with other people. I didn't have that outlet, so every now and then, I would take breaks to the bathroom. I would go to the ladies restroom with my iPod and dance for 30 or 40 minutes. I would make up steps, and then I would go back to sitting down and being an engineer. Little by little, I became more of a dancer and less of an engineer.

"I wanted to change my life."

I went to get a haircut from this lady -- she has her own hair salon. And she would say, "You need to do it. You would be really good at teaching dance." I remember one time saying, "I'm doing it Rosanna, I'm doing it. I'm quitting my job within a month." And then I never did. But because I said it, I had a commitment to myself to do it. I knew that deep inside I wanted to do it and I was just afraid. Months passed, and then I found myself competing in the World Salsa Championships, [and I finished] in the top six in the world. I thought, what if I really gave it my all? What if I really just did this full time for a year? I don't have to do this for the next 10 years. Maybe just one year. Two weeks later I quit my job.

"I remember being really scared, but at the same time, I was relieved."

When I quit my job, my boss was interesting. He was like, "You're dancing? That's what you're going to do?" And I said, "That's what I want to do, so thank you for everything and goodbye." You know, I wanted to run away. Leave that job. And I haven't to this day even gone into that building. I just can't go back.

"If you are this good at something you don't love, how good can you be at something you love?"

I found a book, This Time I Dance, and because of that book I finally quit. Now that I am a professional dancer, I'm not waking up early, which I love. I couldn't ever get to the office early -- I would try so hard. I would set three alarms, and none of them would work somehow. I do yoga in the mornings -- I need to keep my body flexible and healthy. Then I come into the studio, and I teach from noon until 8 or 9 p.m. Now that I'm a dancer, I feel like there are no limits. The possibilities are endless. I feel creative, I feel free, and I feel younger. I want to compete and win. I want to show the world how good I am.