Here's the thing- No, we don't worship Zeus. Seriously, if that seems like an absurd question to you, you would be dumbfounded how many times in my life I've been asked it. It is honestly hilarious what kinds of things people can come up with to ask, but it also has a tendency to make my heart swell with pride that so many people are curious about my heritage. They listen with intent as I talk about the giant spread of food at every meal, the "immediate" family gatherings that always exceed twenty people, and the dancing.

Oh, the dancing. Normally you would think folk dancing would be mundane, boring, and just something that old people did or young people were forced to do by their parents. That's definitely not the case in the Greek culture. I joined the Greek dance team at my church when I was five years old and I continued to compete with the troupe at the nationwide competition almost every year until I was seventeen years old.

Not only did I learn the steps to so many different dances from countless islands in Greece, but I found a sense of family in the instructors and kids from my church that were on the troupe with me. It was just like any other team you would've been apart of in high school, and I find myself missing it all the time.

The dancing doesn't stop once you've aged out of competing. There is dancing at almost every celebration that a Greek is throwing- and you can count on that happening a lot. This is not to say that the stereotype that all Greeks are "crazy partiers" is true, but rather that if there is a chance that an achievement, anniversary, or any remotely special day in someone's life can be celebrated, it will be.

The culture that I was born into is one full of so much love and laughter that could cause one to burst if it's not shared, so the people around me always make sure there is an occasion to share it. Our energy is poured into each other and is let out most effectively by grabbing each others' hands and getting in a circle to do what it seems cannot be contained within the makeup of our soul; dance.