Dancing

God did not bless me with the ability to dance!  I like to think I have some rhythm, but all my life I've been told I'm stiff- I need to loosen up.  I even competed in a dance group when I was younger, but it took me the longest to learn all the dance steps and I was always positioned behind the better dancers, and I'm pretty sure I still made a complete fool of myself.  Despite the fact that I will never be on So You Think You Can Dance, I love dancing!  Funny statement for someone to make right?  I'm awful yet I enjoy it tremendously.  When I was younger I was super self-conscious about my dancing.  I dreaded school dances and I didn't want to dance with any of the boys for fear of making a complete fool of myself.  It's one of the few areas of my life that I have completely no confidence.  I still get self-conscious sometimes about dancing and I get anxious when too many people get around me on the dance floor, which makes my already horrible moves worse.  Yet, I still dance!  Why?  Because dancing for me isn't about being the best, it's about overcoming my anxiety and yes- my awkwardness (although if you know me, you know that I will always be awkward- it's unavoidable).  Dancing for me is about stepping outside my comfort zone, and having a good time despite not being the best.  Hard lesson for athletes and competitive people to learn- you don't always have to be the best.  Especially hard for me to learn- and I'm super competitive and all of my friends are great dancers (my great friend and bobsled teammate Jazmine even tried out for Broadway!)- and these are the people I'm surrounded by on the dance floor!

Another part of dancing for me is overcoming my fear of looking foolish.  Often in life we are put in situations where doing the right thing seems foolish.  When faced with these choices, it's this fear that can prevent us from doing the right thing.  Facing this fear though, often reaps more reward than ever imaginable.  For me, dancing provides me with the opportunity to face the fear of looking foolish every time I step on the dance floor.  I won't lie, there are times were I am completely petrified to step on the floor, knowing there are great dancers and that some of them will inevitably judge me and my lack of dancing ability.  However, I step out on the floor anyways.  If I can face my fear of looking foolish on the dance floor, then I can face my fear of looking foolish in other areas of my life.  Most of the time, when I face this fear I have more fun dancing with my friends that I could have ever imagined- which sure beats sitting on the sideline looking cute!

I may never win a dance contest or be on Broadway, but that won't keep me from dancing!  Facing the fear makes the reward so much sweeter, and for that- I'll just keep on dancing!

So on that note, take a look at the dance Jazmine and I are going to attempt to learn this summer (she'll probably have it down pact, and I'll probably dance behind her lol):

I'll be sure to post videos after we learn it!  Happy Dancing!