How do you say goodbye to a place that means so much? How do you say goodbye to people who have changed your life? How do you say goodbye to everything that made the last fifteen years amazing? Truth is ... you don't.
For the last fifteen years, dance has been a part of my life, but for the past ten years, dance has been my life. From classes and rehearsals to competition and other performances, every waking minute has been controlled by dance. However, now that chapter is coming to a close and a new one will begin. Year after year, new girls will take my spot as graduating seniors and relive the beauty of it all – lots of tears that are overshadowed by all of the amazing memories and moments.
There is a reason why I have continued for so long and it is not because I enjoy spending my weekends and breaks at the studio. The reason is much simpler, every bad time was quickly forgotten thanks to my teammates – the people who picked me up when I was down. My teammates who suffered through the same torturous rehearsals, and made a four hour rehearsal feel like an hour.
But for me, the studio days are over and now I will find another place to call home – another team who will teach me so much more. Still, my final performance with my team has not occurred yet, and the four minutes up on that stage will finish in the blink of an eye.
Every performance starts. It goes by quicker than you want it to and because of this, the only thing that I will hopefully remember forever is the feeling. That feeling backstage, knowing you have endless opportunities and it is your job to put your best foot forward for the team. That feeling on stage, when you know you are killing it and then see the judges and teachers clapping – confirming that you are putting all your energy up on that stage. That feeling afterwards, when your family, friends, and studio are cheering because yes, you just did that and should be proud. Sadly, every performance will end. But even after a performance finishes, you are glad it happened in the first place. Glad you were able to share the stage with girls who became some of your closest friends. Glad you were able to share your passion with your family and friends. But most importantly, glad you were able to express yourself and let out every emotion imaginable on that stage – for nobody except yourself. The performance will end – its inevitable – but after another begins.
So now you may ask ... How does one finally conclude the fifteen year journey in studio dance? The only rightful way to end it is by leaving it all on the floor. But the truth is, for the past fifteen years, I have been dancing like it is my last performance because you never know what may happen. What you do know is that regardless of the outcome – even if you win or lose – it is a team effort. So it may be my last performance with my team but it is also my team's last performance as a full and complete team. A team who shared a years worth of memories together that will be cherished for as long as possible. A team who overcame many challenges together as a singular entity. A team who I will miss next year, and for years to come. A team who made my final performances special because of the fact that they were up on stage alongside me – performing with as much energy as necessary. Not just a team, but my team.
So now it is time for my final performance with my team to occur and I will no longer share the stage with this group of girls – this group of some of my closest friends. With this I want to say thank you. If it was not for my team, I would not be where I am today. You taught me everything I needed to know and now it is my time to leave you with a few pieces of advice. Everything you do – dance or even something else – put your best foot forward and make sure to go full out (since birth). When you need help, look around and try to find a hand to lift you up, but if you can not find one, there is no shame in picking yourself up. Most importantly, find something you are passionate about – it might not even be dance – but when you find that one thing that sparks a fire in your soul, do everything to keep the flame burning. I am lucky, dance showed me that my passion has been with me all along, but that does not mean that dance is the only choice, it is simply my choice.
Fifteen years. It goes by quickly – very, very quick. But for one last performance, hopefully I will be able to cherish my final moments on stage. For my team, I would say goodbye but honestly, that seems unnecessary when I can just say see you later. I can not wait to see what you guys do with your lives and know that whatever you decide to do, it will be triumphant. Fifteen years goes by quickly but at the end of the day, the reason I stayed was because of you guys, so thank you. Break a leg!
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