Shoe Personality of the Week: 4/25/2011

My favorite thing about posting these shoes is imagining the side-eye of those who know me well trying to imagine ANY connection to them. I learned 1st position watching other people do it, but I don't know too much past that. I'm a call & response, drums & sticks, Motherland rhythms type dancer. Always have been & had decided at 1 point that I was comfortable with that. Until recently.

Soooooooo...in my quest to find more satisfaction in this life I live, I realized that part of the problem was what I believed was satisfaction doing the same things year in & year effin out. B O R I N G. My life was beginning to make me itch from the routine of it all. Then I began chasing adventure. In doing so I've realized that adventure is all in the perspective. For some, adventure is going for the chocolate ice cream vs the vanilla they've been eating for the last 15 years. For me it's working my way up to hang gliding. Gotta have goals.

One area of my life that has felt like concrete boots is my dance scene. African dance has been my life's breath, my church, for what seems like ever. Recently though--like the last 4 years--It's felt more like work than joy. No bueno. I realized that there's adventure to be had here as well. BRANCH OUT!! Every dance form has a language. The language of African dance is natural. Every dance form outside of that has required some extra crib notes. As I watched the Howard University Dance Department put it down last Friday, I knew it was time to begin branching out.

Less than a week after that performance I've done just that. My turn around on making a decision & following suit is getting better. My hang ups have fewer hang ups & I'm not resisting my own movement. Progress. Not only did I try something new but I loved it & I'm doing it again today. & when I get home I'll begin researching my other dance options that broaden my horizons. African dance will always be my 1st love but like my other 1st loves, most of them are just fond memories I revisit from time to time. While I don't expect to become that disconnected, I feel I need this side step in order to maintain my 1 true love. I'm giddy with excitement.

I'm also taking this excitement into this last phase of the school year. I've got to raise my levels in order to counteract the children's return from Spring Break as though the school year is over. It's all evidence of the cycles that are a part of everything. Learning to anticipate the cycles so that they aren't a surprise, at the very least, or that they can be planned for is the optimal goal. My memory's not always so good but doing things like blogging help keep me on top of my own cycles. This time next year I can look back at this & know what to expect. & even if it's not in the same position--it never is--I'll still know to expect some kind of cycle. Ultimately, I will have succeeded if I can meet it with exuberance, searching for the new adventure of it all. It's worked for me thus far, carrying me into a great many new situations that are continuing to cultivate my Grace Under Fire bit. It's all been quite a dance & I intend to dance all the way to my grave.

Watch me move.

Post Script--On a different note, this time last year I was celebrating my grandmother's 80st birthday from the bathroom of cruise suite & then another week of purging from top & bottom. I've never experienced such sickness EVER, but especially not in the middle of celebration. Yesterday marks my favorite girl's 81st birthday. She's still kickin' & therefore I have no excuses for being still. Inspiration's everywhere.