Footprints

seven

It took me a while to find my passion. Everyone has one, and we all end up finding it. I've learned this mainly because of my mother. She's always told me to find what I love and be motivated to do it. I look up to her for that. She's probably one of my biggest inspirations.

I've been dancing ballet for ten years, since I was three. I've always enjoyed it; I liked going to dance class. I liked doing pliés at the barre, or pirouettes in the center. But I never realized how much I loved it until last spring.

It all started with a recital dance, choreographed to the song Beethoven's Five Secrets. It was the most incredible dance I had ever seen. I still remember watching the rehearsals; the advanced dancers at my studio would move at the same time, dancing different steps, but somehow, dancing together. And the song- it was so beautiful. When you watched the choreography, it was like everything disappeared. It was just you watching, the dancers performing, and music surrounding it all. Nothing else. Even though I hadn't been dancing myself, just seeing the other dancers made me feel like I was up on stage with them. Every part of me would start moving to the music. And at that moment, as I watched, I knew. I knew that dancing was a part of my life, and I wanted it to be like that forever.

That is why Beethoven's Five Secrets, or Secrets by One Republic, means so much to me. Even though it's just a song, it's also a memory. It's a symbol to me, of why I dance, and why I will always keep dancing. Of course, I have those days where I don't want to go to class, or I don't want to stretch at home. But whenever I feel like that, I listen to Secrets, and am reminded of why I love ballet so much.

Some people think ballet is easy, but it sure as hell is not. Ballerinas work for hours at a time just to get a combination right. By the end of a class we are sweaty and we smell terrible. We work until we understand the littlest of steps. Although we could never reach perfection with dancing because there are always things to improve on, we return to the studio every day and dance some more. We perform on stage and make everything look so graceful, smiling and dancing through the pain. And why? Because we love it. We love the pain and the sweat because despite that, dancing makes us feel free. When I'm dancing, I forget about everything; I forget the things around me, the stress of the day, anxiety of relationships, and everything else. I dance because it is my passion.

I will always remember the advanced dancers watching them rehearse Beethoven's Five Secrets. I will always remember watching them move across the stage and thinking the same thing, over and over again.

I want to be like them someday.

I want to be able to dance as gracefully as they are dancing now.

Ever since then, I've always known what my passion was. And even if I don't grow up to be a proffesional ballerina, or if I eventually drop dancing as I grow old and have grey hair, I will never forget how much I love to dance.