Before I came to college, I was a dancer for 15 years. Ever since I was 3 years old, I had trained in classical ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, tap and musical theater dance. While I miss the days of after school dance classes, long dress rehearsals, sewing pointe shoes and glittery costumes, I unfortunately had to put my college education first and put my passion for dance on hold. Still, I find myself falling back into my dancer tendencies every day. If you are anything like me and danced like no one was watching your whole life, here is a definitive list of signs that you grew up dancing:
1. You can't count past 8 while walking through campus.
2. You have known how to do full stage makeup since a very young age.
3. You can make applying false eyelashes look easy.
4. You have mastered the art of changing in small spaces after having to change into your leotard and tights in the back of your mom's car on the ride from school to ballet class.
5. You subconsciously still find yourself practicing your pliés and tendus in the grocery store line.
6. "OMG I did a competition dance to this song!" is your go-to reaction when a certain song comes on at a party.
7. And then you proceed to attempt to do the old choreography in the middle of the crowded dance floor.
8. You find any excuse to stretch, even while doing homework.
9. You have a drawer full of old dance costumes, sparkly spandex shorts, and fishnet tights, just in case you need a last-minute costume or party outfit.
10. The phrase "floor barre" still haunts your dreams and makes you want to cry.
11. The words "attitude" and "turnout" have a completely different meaning to you.
12. You still cut holes in the bottom of your tights.
13. Bad hair day? Ballet bun it is.
14. You sometimes throw on your old, dead pointe shoes just for fun.
15. And then you cry from the searing pain in your still calloused toes.
16. You feel like you have to explain why your feet are so calloused when you get a pedicure.
17. Speaking of pedicures, you rarely got them as a kid.
18. Your old, embarrassing recital pictures adorn every corner of your parents' house.
19. You still, to this day, find random bobby pins EVERYWHERE.
20. You find yourself subconsciously choreographing to every song you hear.
21. You still spell "bar" as "barre" and "point" as "pointe."
22. Your party trick is showing off your splits (if you still have them).
23. You forget that cracking your back, hips, knees, etc. in public is probably not as socially acceptable as you think it is.
24. Any excuse to dance reminds you of your childhood.
25. And although you don't practice as much anymore, you miss dancing every single day.
