This weekend Anna Jois and I went faaar out of our comfort zone in the Rising Star competition.

Some great humbling lessons:

1. Winning is not the point of competing – becoming better is! We have experienced losing the battles and feeling great about the whole thing.

2. Admiration before envy – We are humbled by our fellow participants' skills, dedication and passion. We let ourselves admire and get inspired by our competitors. But never would we dream of feeling envy towards people who have something we don't yet possess. No one is stopping us. Envy is poison.

3. Everyone has a strong suit – Ours is teaching. We were struggling to keep up the pace in the battles and show elements. But in the classes we stepped into the circle, owned the room and finished our classes scoring great points, where other participants struggled.

4. Feeling a sense of belonging – We are not settling to be passive observers of our destiny. We are not only consumers of what we love. We get to participate, engage, entertain and create opportunities for others. We belong here, in this scene and in this world!

5. Finding friends in adversity – As a grown-up it's very hard to make new friends. Life and the everyday effectively stand in the way of creating meaningful connections with people. Among our fellow participants, during these short days, we have found amazing support – Jadilson Santarosa II cheering us on and offering a big hug when things didn't go our way.

Thank you so much Jadilson Santarosa II for the invitation to participate – and to the people who believe in us and give us a chance to prove ourselves.

Thank you, head coach Dwé Kizomba Full, for your support during the weekend.