Who am I ? By Sophie Dickson – aka Miss Wolverhampton

Who am I?

 This is a question I used to ask myself all the time growing up. I was unsure of the person I was or what path I was supposed to take in my life.

Rewind to the start. I was born and raised till the age of Nine just on the outskirts of Wolverhampton in a small town called Burntwood where I lived with my mom and dad. I attended, nursery, reception and primary school in Burntwood until year 4.

 My Parents divorced when I was just six years old which was hard but they always tired to give me the best life they possibly could. I can honestly say I have the most amazing four parents anyone could ever asked for.

My time at primary school wasn’t good I experienced a lot of bullying , I was pushed  and even pulled through dog mess on a daily basis. After my parents divorced and had both moved on with their new partners who are my amazing step parents who have been a big impact in my life. Mom and Dad thought it would be the best thing for me if they moved me schools. This is where I attended Cheslyn Hay Primary School. My time at this school was amazing I settled in really well and made friends quickly.

After I left primary school and moved up to the high school I was so excited to see what high school was going to do for me. Year seven to eight was good, I was never the brightest at school and not knowing I was dyslexic at the time I struggled a lot with subjects like Maths and English.

Year nine onwards is when the bullying started again. Due to personal reasons I had a very unhealthy relationship with food, I didn’t eat and when I did eat I would feel terrible and scared after doing so, with this my appearance was different to others in my year. I was bullied for how I look being shouted at in the corridor from older year groups and people who I thought were my ‘friends’, “why are you so skinny?”, “Are you anorexic?”, “pass Sophie the bin so she can throw up her lunch”, “do you realise you look more like a boy than I do?”. These were things I heard most days for the last three years of school, I was scared to talk to my parents as I didn’t want to make things worse at the school so my only way of dealing with these problems was to take the pain away myself. I ended up speaking to my mom as she started to notice what I was doing and it was the best thing I ever did. She guided me and helped me so much where we ended up speaking the school and getting the bulling under-wraps.

After leaving school with only three GCSEs and knowing the only thing I wanted to do was dance, I auditioned for a performing arts school in Mansfield called Expressions of Performing Arts. I ended up being awarded with a full scholarship for their three year course. I left home at sixteen and followed my dreams into becoming a professional performer.

Along side the dancing, singing and acting we had to do written work for the course, as the same as school I struggled a lot but with the help of my amazing teacher Michaela she got me tested and we found out I actually was dyslexic, this completely changed my life and helps me so much even today.

 I ended up staying on an extra year and extending my HNC In performing arts to a HND and it was the best thing I ever did. With out the guidance from the principal Maxine, and all my teachers, Lynn, Adam, Marcus, Jordi and more I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Not only did they show me I can do and be anything I want but they also showed me its ok to fail if you try again.

After graduating from EPA I moved back home with my family and started to audition for dance jobs. Along this path I realised I had a real passion for teaching and this is where I wanted to take my career. Guiding and supporting people into showing them what my teachers showed me.

So who am I?

I am proud to say I am a strong, independent, confident and driven woman who loves the gym . I take pride in helping others and making sure no one ever has to feels how I did. I want to educate young people and show them that what ever happens to you, you can succeed and you most likely end up in a better place than those people  that hurt you in the passed.

I am a professional dancer, ring girl and model and a teacher of performing arts to all ages giving them the knowledge I was given from my teachers.

I like to make people smile and let them know the world can be a good place. I make sure I do one good deed a day, wether that’s opening a door for someone or my recent one was taking an elderly lady up a lift as she was scared to go on her own.

I hope you enjoy reading about me and what has made me the person I am today.