I've been dancing since I was four-years-old. It's been my number one passion ever since then--so much so, that I made the best decision to continue my dancing in college. With fifteen years of experience under my belt, there are a few things I've learned about dance that still stand true to this day. After a long, long, long (did I mention long?) rehearsal week, I've had plenty of time to relive what it truly means to be a dancer. Here are 27 things all dancers know to be true:

1. Bruises. ENDLESS bruises.

Black and blues are a symbol of a dancer. Bruises are our battle wounds; it's like an initiation into the art. Each bump, nick, and bruise demonstrates our dedication to our favorite pastime. But that doesn't justify the pain on our knees for the next week. In fact, some of these bruises are so bad that we are often asked "did you fall down the stairs ten times?" or my personal favorite, "did you hit your knees with a sledgehammer?" #diditforthedance

2. As much as we complain about our bruises, we secretly love them.

"Wanna see my bruises?" "Yooo, that one's HUGE." "OMG, look how dark this one is, I must've went hard on that floor part!" "Duuuuude, that one's nasty, but it kinda looks cool."

Yep. Weird, but mostly fascinating.

3. A dancer's least favorite term: "Knee drop."

*endless groans from the class* I mean, there's really nothing pleasant about dropping your entire body weight onto the hard wood floor. Sure, they look great onstage, but even the audience groans when they hear thirty plus girls drop to the floor with a giant smack. #bruisesfordaaaaays

4. Leotards are the WORST.

Wearing a leotard was cute when you were little, but there is nothing flattering about wearing a one piece organ-squeezer now. Not to mention they ride up and make it incredibly difficult to pee.

5. And so are tights.

Dance tights have the magical ability to transform me from human being to sausage within minutes. And real emphasis on minutes here because tights also take forever to put on.

6. "One more time" is ALWAYS a lie.

"One more time" really mean nineteen more times in dance terminology.

7. You pray to hear the words, "mark it," after doing the dance two plus times in a row.

And you really dread when you hear instead, "full out."

8. You make weird movements with your body when marking a dance.

You know what I'm talking about--right before you perform, you mark the dance in your head really fast to make sure you know what you're doing. Except it's not really in your head because you twitch your hands, legs, and head in strange patterns for about a minute. Non-dancers probably think we look insane, but for us, it's natural.

9. You still get incredibly nervous before hitting the stage.

Most of us have been showcasing our talents on the stage since we were toddlers, and yet, going backstage, I hear a symphony of the following phrases:

"Holy crap, I'm nervous." "I'm gonna puke all over the stage." "I think I have to pee, oh my God, I'm so nervous." "If I mess up, I'll die."

10. But you go out and kill it every time.

The nerves fly out the window as soon as the music starts bumping and your inner Beyoncé comes out.

11. Because of your years of experience, you know how to recover from an unexpected mistake...like falling.

When in doubt, booty bounce it out.

12. You can hear your friends and family in the audience loud and clear.

There's nothing like walking on stage and hearing, "YAAAAAS GIRL WORK!" or "SLAAAAY BOO!" or "THAT'S MY BEST FRIEND, GO BEST FRIEND" or "YEAH *insert name* " to get you pumped for your performance.

13. Trying to find your spot in the dark is a lot harder than it looks.

I apologize to anyone I've accidentally body-checked while frantically trying to orient myself on stage.

14. You get pissed when someone is in your spot.

I do not apologize to anyone I've purposefully body-checked for being in my spot. #sorrynotsorry

15. The most stressful term for dancers: "quick change."

There's nothing quite like having all of your numbers one right after the other. Thanks, Satan.

16. You double--no, triple--check that you have all your costume pieces.

Your worst nightmare is forgetting a shoe or a shirt at home. *shudders*

17. Speaking of nightmares, we've all had the bad recital dream.

Right before a recital, you always psych yourself out and have a nightmare about the recital. While there are multiple versions, some include forgetting all of your costumes, forgetting all of your dances, falling on stage every time you dance, forgetting the show date...the list goes on and on.

18. Going out to eat with your family after a recital turns you into a spectacle for the other customers.

Nothing like going out to a restaurant in full stage makeup and sweatpants. True fashion.

19. Taking off stage makeup is the most wonderful experience on this planet Earth.

After having heavy layers of foundation, blush, eyeshadow, and lipstick on your face for five plus hours, it's absolutely heavenly removing it.

20. But the smell of your dance bag is not as wonderful.

DON'T OPEN IT. I REPEAT. DO NOT OPEN THE BAG. EVER.

21. You lose all of your bobby pins and hair ties without fail after recital weekend.

Bye-bye forever.

22. Dances are forever ingrained in our brains.

You may claim you forget a dance, but as soon as that song you danced to when you were eight comes on, your muscle memory kicks in and you shock both yourself and your friends.

23. Your entire body cracks every time you move.

Cue the stares of horror.

24. You are on the dance floor for the majority of the time you are out on the weekends.

Your friends usually have to drag you out to the cab mid-twerk. You can't help it that your dance moves are so fabulous.

25. Candid dance pictures are not cute.

You always search through all of the dance pictures after the show, hoping for a cool candid showing off your technique, but you're often left disappointed.The photographer always catches you mid-dance move, where your body is contorted and you're making an ugly face. Every time.

26. They call it "Hell Week" for a reason.

The week before the showcase isn't call "Hell Week" just for fun. They really mean it: you will be dancing almost every night for hours, on top of all your other classes, assignments, tests, jobs, clubs, sleep, food, health...you get the picture. While walking around campus the next morning looking like a zombie straight out of The Walking Dead, you'll seriously consider whether Satan himself created Hell Week.

27. But you wouldn't have it any other way.

While Hell Week can be stressful, you're forever grateful for those late night practices that brought you to your best friends. And let's be honest--you'd rather be dancing than doing homework anyway.