My last Showtime :(

           So this past Sunday, June 7, 2015, I had my last Showtime at Florida Dance Workshop.  For those of you who don't know what Showtime is, it's my end of the year performance for dance.  Dance has made a major impact in my life, especially after my dad was taken away.  Dance has not only became a hobby, but also an outlet.  It has became apart of me.  I spent hours a day at my studio.  The people there not only became my friends, but we became a family.
           Have you ever loved a sport so much where you didn't know what to do with yourself during a break or time off?  That was me with dance.  During summer, Christmas breaks and Thanksgiving breaks I would go crazy because all I did was dance.  When I dance, I have this feeling that I'm free from whatever is going on at home or at school or just life in general.  Like I said, dance was my outlet.
           There's something about dancing that fills my heart with such joy.  Whether it's performing on stage or just at my studio practicing.  The butterflies in your tummy you get before you compete, the adrenaline you feel while you're performing and the satisfaction you feel when you're done with a dance.  Dancing isn't about winning double platinum's or high golds...it's about becoming better than you were the day before.  It's for the joy you feel while performing.
           People often wonder why we do pointe when it hurts so bad, why we stress out over rhinestones and glitter and props for one dance, why we spend thousands of dollars per dance season.  Let me tell you why...it's because it's a part of us.  Dance is not only a sport but an art (even though some people don't think dance is even a sport).  Holding all you're weight on your toes and dancing gracefully, having the endurance of a football player and working through the pain until you finish the dance...being criticized as long as your feet are gliding across the floor, not just based on technique but also facial expressions and the movements you perform to correspond with the style selected...and doing it all with a smile on your face.  That's dance.
      Through all the blood, sweat and tears...dance has become apart of me.  I have learned discipline, life lessons, how to love, how to be supportive and so much more. My studio has became a family and my teachers have not only became my friends, but mentors.  They taught me not only about dance but various life lessons.  I don't know what I'm going to do with myself when I go off to college but hopefully I'll still be dancing somewhere.  I will of course miss my family at FDW but I know their doors are always open and I will always be apart of the FDW family.