I don't know about you, but dancing is not my strong suit. Don't get me wrong, I love to dance for fun, but the thought of being on a professional dancing show freaks me out. That's why I admire the celebrities that go on Dancing With The Stars, and even more so the kids currently competing on Dancing With The Stars: Juniors.
One of the most intriguing members of the cast is Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson, who shot to fame on TLC's Toddlers and Tiaras. Known for her extremely excited attitude, a lot of people wondered how Thompson would fair on the show, and why she agreed to it in the first place.
"I've never even watched the show before to be honest," Thompson told PEOPLE. "I wanted to do it because when they asked me, I thought this is something that I've never done and it'd be super fun and a great experience. So I figured, let's do it!"
Despite her excitement towards the opportunity, Thompson admitted it wasn't as easy as she thought. Despite her history with pageant routines, this was a little more challenging.
"It was a little hard to get down the steps, and get the numbers and the counts down," Thompson told Good Housekeeping. "It took me a whole entire day to learn the counts because it was so hard. [At first] I didn't get that you had to count to the music."
"It didn't get any easier, it actually got a lot harder," she claimed.
And though she eventually picked up the steps, Thompson said there was a time that she hit a breaking point, and pushing through it actually came with an inspiring message.
"I did hit a breaking point at one time," Thompson admitted. "Mackenzie Ziegler is on the show and I was like, "˜I'm never going to be better than her.' But I kind of got past it because you don't have to be the best dancer to win. It's not just about being the best dancer. It's about having fun, too."
The Here Comes Honey Boo Boo star is paired with Tristan Ianiero, a Canadian dancer from Toronto, and is being mentored by Artem Chigvintsev. Thompson credits these two for helping her succeed.
"Everyone around me was so supportive," she said. "Some days I would get super nervous and frustrated, but Artem and Tristan were supportive and told me I was going to be great."
Even though they're supportive of Thompson, the reality star was skeptical about her new dance partner at first.
"I didn't think our chemistry was going to be super amazing, but then we actually started dancing and practicing, and our chemistry was amazing," she explained. "We're now best friends."
Thompson also has a message to everyone who is trying something new for the first time.
"If you're questioning your abilities "” I mean, I thought dancing was going to be the hardest thing ever to learn and to do, but it wasn't as hard as I thought once we got the hang of it," Thompson revealed. "If you're going to do something, don't be afraid to do it and just do it!"
The entire Thompson family has been around to support Alana on her journey, and she couldn't be more thankful.
[H/T: Good Housekeeping, People]
"It meant a lot to have most of my sisters there because they both flew in from Georgia, which is like a four-hour flight," she says. "It meant so much to have them there. And it meant a lot to have my mom there. She was so supportive. Just knowing they're they to support me means everything."
