To Dancers,

Never take these days for granted and always live in the moment because, before you know it, you'll be performing at your last recital wondering where the time went.

I'm sure you're thinking, "I hear this all the time," because that's exactly what I would've been thinking if I were reading this last year. But, this is a lesson I had to learn the hard way. I look back on the nights when I would drag myself to the studio because I just wasn't feeling it that day or the recitals when I sat there wanting nothing more than to go to bed. I regret each and every time I stared at a clock waiting for class to be over or sat backstage at a recital impatiently waiting for the finale. Now, I want nothing more than to be able to step onto a stage and feel the heat of the lights hitting me one last time.

I have spent 15 out of my 18 years dancing, and I never gave much thought to the idea of the day I would have to give it up. Until my very last recital. I remember standing on the stage after the final curtain closed and fighting the urge to drop to my knees and sob. The realization that it was all over hit me like a ton of bricks. I was completely speechless.

I have taken breaks from dance, but it has never been for more than a season. Now that I am done with dance and know I don't have an opportunity to run back to it, my heart is in pieces. Dance pulled me out of some of my darkest points, it was my complete escape from anything for so long. Letting go of something that has played such a huge part in shaping me into the person I am today is one of the hardest things I have had to do at this point in my life, and I hope you don't have the same regrets I do.

Take in every second, every eight-count, every blister, every bruise, and every "one more time." I promise one day you're going to miss every single part of this sport, even the ones you thought you hated. There are so many occasions I remember thinking to myself, "Oh my God, I will never miss this in a million years," but it turns out I couldn't have been more wrong.

So, do not take these days for granted and live each and every moment of it to the fullest, because I would give anything to go to dance class one more time.

Love,

A former dancer