You probably already know how much I love you. I never stop talking about the both of you to everyone I meet; I always tell them about how tap dancing is one of my favorite things, and about how much joy you have brought me since I was first acquainted with you as a young child. I wouldn’t have written about you two for my college application essays if I didn’t love you two. Heck, you guys are even the stars of Instagram page, so the whole world knows how much I care about you. You must know by now how much I love your soft, leather exterior and your shiny, cold taps that make the most exquisite sound when you touch a piece of hard, wooden floor.

I wasn’t too sure about you guys at first. You frustrated me to no end when I first got to know you. I just could not figure out how to work this relationship out with you. My head hurt so much after we tried to do a “flap” together; we just couldn’t figure out how to synchronize our thoughts and movements together to make two simple sounds with my foot. I also got so many physical injuries from you. You could almost call our relationship abusive, as you gave me so many blisters from those times I neglected to wear socks, so many bruises from the times I just couldn’t nail those heel clicks, and let’s not forget the time I practically broke my toe trying to do a wing. The fact that we didn’t really mesh together hurt me physically and mentally, and you almost made me want to walk away from this relationship several times. I wasn’t sure if I could handle the amount of dedication and drive it took to be able to have the relationship I wanted with you. However, after I committed to making this relationship work, I realized that you two were the ones for me.

Sure there were other pairs of dance shoes. You know very well that I had strong feelings for my half-soles, and you know how much I adored my red, flashy hip-hop sneakers, but you guys were the best shoes. I would toss my other shoes aside in a heartbeat in dance class if I knew I got to spend an entire hour with just you. Once I found how wonderful you truly were deep down, I was able to truly appreciate everything you did for me. You pulled me out of the deep end when I thought that the world was going to cave in on me at any second. Whenever I was feeling down, you were able to make those feelings go away for even just a little bit so I could get a taste of what happiness felt like. You made me realize how much I love performing onstage. Whenever you graced my feet, you made me feel like the queen of the world; I felt like I could conquer anything whenever we spent time together both onstage and off. Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to gain the self-confidence that has helped me gain so much more outside of the dance world. If I never performed alongside you, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to go out and meet new people, interview for new jobs, or even just speak up in class sometimes.

We’ve had some pretty great memories too. I am never going to forget that time we were able to do our first pull-back together, and I am not going to forget the time that you helped me win a Platinum award for our solo last year. I am not going the times when we slid across the stage together when we grooved to “U Can’t Touch This,” and I am not going to forget the times we spent together teaching young dancers the joys of tap dancing. I am not going to forget the times that we traveled the world together, whether that be the times we danced at conventions, competitions, on the streets or even in Walt Disney World. Most importantly, I am not going to forget the joys we were able to share together. I am never going to forget the pure enjoyment we shared those times we were able to share our love for dance with the audience, and I am I never going to forget the feelings of pure excitement we had when we realized how cool it was that we together could compose a beautiful melody of crisp sounds that told our passionate story.

I know I haven’t always been the nicest to you. I am sorry for those times I stomped a little too hard while wearing you on my feet. I just loved the feeling I would get when the shock from your metal taps would meet my toes and send a tingle all the way up from my foot to the top of my spine. I guess I didn’t consider how this would make you feel. I am also sorry for those times I threw you to the side when I got a little frustrated with you. I really wanted our relationship to work, and when we weren’t in synch with our sounds and rhythms, I felt like I was doing something wrong, and that I was honestly disgracing you and all your beauty. I just didn’t know how to fix it. I realize now that it was a team effort for us to be able to have the perfect relationship, and I needed to put in all of my effort in order for that to happen.

Lastly, I am sorry that I haven’t been able to spend as much time with you while I have been studying at school. Things have gotten really hectic lately, but you need to know that I still think about you every day when I see my dance bag sitting in the corner of my room. I think that we should have another jam session soon. One of these days I am going to dig you out of that smelly bag, slip you on my feet like always, and we are going to tap it out to all our favorite songs. How does that sound?

Love Always,

Your Favorite Pair of Feet