Name: Alika Arnott
Course: Computer Arts
Year: 3rd Year
What made you choose to join the AberFly Society?
I wanted to try something that high school me would never have dreamt of doing. Going into university, I was keen on a fresh start and I began taking any opportunity that would allow me to experience something new. Initially I was unsure whether pole dancing would be for me, but after a few months I had developed a love for it thanks to the welcoming environment and amazing people.
What initially drew you to pole, and how has it impacted your physical and mental well-being?
Unfortunately I had developed a negative image of myself in my head, and to fix this I began looking for ways to challenge that image. I found pole dancing to be a valuable tool for building both physical and mental strength. At first I believed that trying something out of my comfort zone and failing would have a negative impact on my mental well-being, and while failure was disheartening at first, it taught me to be more resilient and to keep going. That resilience I built up through pole dance became valuable in both my academic and social life.
How does pole contribute to your self-confidence, body positivity and overall sense of empowerment?
Setting goals for myself and achieving them gives me confidence, no matter how small those goals are. Before I joined Aberfly I had very little confidence in my physical capabilities, because PE was a subject I struggled with at school. I believed learning to pole dance would be unachievable, but I soon found out that I was wrong and that I could do it. Pole dance has helped me realise my body is capable of much more than I thought.
Can you share a memorable experience of breaking through a personal limitation or fear while practicing pole? How did you approach it and what did you learn from that experience?
I thought learning to hang upside down from a pole would be too challenging for me, but after a few attempts I had managed to get the hang of it. I couldn’t successfully perform that move every time though, because occasionally fear would take hold of me. I found the biggest challenge in pole dancing to be those feelings of fear and anxiety. The best way to approach those feelings is not to avoid doing the moves you are afraid of, but to do those moves you struggle with over and over, to help build confidence. Through this mindset I found myself being able to hang upside down successfully more often than before.
If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future, and why?
I would travel to the prehistoric era of history where dinosaurs were most abundant. That way I could see what dinosaurs actually look like, because our idea of them only comes from fossils. There are challenges in finding out how much fat or feathers they had from looking at just a fossil. For all we know they could be the most adorable creatures to have roamed the Earth. The only downside of visiting the prehistoric era would be constantly having to avoid being eaten.
What's your favourite board game or video game, and what makes it so enjoyable for you?
My favourite video game is Minecraft, because I like wandering the endless landscape and never knowing what I will run into. My goal in the game is to one day build an entire town with a castle for myself to live in, but currently I lack the patience and discipline to complete such a massive project. For the time being I am content with digging holes and living in those.
If you could have any superpower for a day, what would you choose and how would you use it?
I would love to have the power to shapeshift into any animal I choose. That way I would have access to multiple superpowers of my choosing, for example I could fly by turning into a bird, or breath underwater by turning into a fish.
