Allegra

You think you know me, you don't know me well at all You don't know anybody till you talk to someone

Hi, my name's Allegra, and the reason that I wanted to participate in this podcast is multi-layered.

First, I've been a longtime listener of the podcast since season one, and I absolutely love what you do, Tiffany.

I think it's really amazing.

Secondly, I wanted to put my voice to my story again and reclaim it.

Being a part of Dr. Badera's book is a great honor, but I wanted to bring my voice back into it rather than have my story be told by someone else.

And finally, I always want to help and support other survivors in the hopes that I can make their experience better than mine was.

I love that.

Oh, absolutely.

There was a lot going on behind the scenes, administratively and with different people that I just had no concept of, because it was so nefarious and underhanded that it never really occurred to me that people would move in those ways.

Well, I wanted to become a professional ballerina.

Many dancers opt not to go to college at all because of the limited time that we do have in the profession.

Our bodies only last so long.

But my parents were very passionate about education, and I am glad that they instilled that in me and made me go because I use my education and what I learned in college on a daily basis.

I became interested in Western University because they had a great ballet program and I could receive a BFA in ballet specifically.

That was really attractive.

Western University was far enough away that I could get some independence.

It was not in the same state, but it was close enough that if I needed something or if an emergency happened, I could get home quickly or my family could get to me.

How were you feeling about living away from home?

four weeks, five weeks, six weeks.