Within the first five minutes of meeting me anywhere, you'd probably figure out if you didn't already know that I'm on a dance team. Considering the fact that, one, I love dance, two, most of my closest friends are on my dance team and three, I'm one of the captains. Dance has, is and always will be a big part of my college life. The dynamic of my team, TAMU Sahithya, is a little different however, since we have no guys on our team. And so, in the week leading up to Sangam, a huge Indian dance competition on A&M Campus, I thought I'd talk about a couple of things that make my squad so special.
1. Break time is gossip time
I don't know about y'all, but for us, breaks during practice are key to updating each other about or social lives. From the smallest thing like a cute guy smiling at one of us at the library to someone getting asked out, you know our juiciest secrets will be spilt at dance practice. And if someone is reluctant to sharing at first, we have our ways to get it out of them.
2. Trips to Ulta before competition are a must
Sahithya is an Indian classical dance team. The style of dance that do is very makeup heavy. Thus, pre-competition trips to Ulta to pick up foundation, powder and tons of eyeliner are a must. But of course, what was supposed to be a five-minute trip to Ulta turns into staying there for two hours and trying on every lipstick in the store (at least that's what happens to me).
3. We all wear the same clothes to practice
OK, so this one is a bit of an exaggeration, but we all usually wear black leggings with either some A&M shirt we got on campus for free or one of our many Sahithya shirts. What can I say; when you're jumping around and dancing for two hours, comfort is key.
4. Post-practice late night munchies are a bonding experience
We like food. We like food a lot. While some girls will be on a no carbs kinda' diet, a diet for us is somehow surviving one week without Taco Bell. Trips to Taco Bell and McDonalds at 12:30 a.m. on cold Thursday nights are wonderful because we end up staying there and chatting for hours. The bond that is formed over eating McFlurry's at midnight is unbreakable and can't be formed elsewhere.
5. We're really protective over each other
If you already couldn't tell by now, we tend to spend a lot of time together, whether it's at dance practice or just hanging out. Your team becomes your family over time, and being the mama bear that I am, I get really protective over my team. You best believe that if some fool hurts one of my teammates, I'll be the first to know.
6. Things can get a little weird when non-team members hang out with us
I don't mean this in a bad way, but after spending so much time together, we have a bunch of inside jokes and little things we tease each other on. It can be kinda weird when other people hear the things that we say to each other and can be kinda intimidating to be with all of us at once if you aren't extremely familiar with the group.
7. There are little to no personal boundaries
We're close like any group of close friends who know quite a bit about each other. And once you reach some level of closeness, boundaries start to go down.
8. They've seen you at your best and worst
They've seen you when you look damn good and when you woke up like this (and not the cute kind).
9. They're my go to for anything and everything
Your team is your family. And when you're happy or sad, mad or glad, you go to your family and they accept you with open arms, flaws and all.
For more information on my amazing dance team here are our social media links:
Follow us on Snapchat! @tamusahithya
Also, please go like this Facebook video to give us extra rehearsal time!
