For six years I have been dreaming of some day meeting my dance idol, Yulia Zagoruychenko. This weekend was by far one of the best I’ve ever had and I’m still reeling from the experience. It feel so unreal but then I look at the pictures I took and realize that IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

Yesterday, I watched Yulia and Riccardo a showcase with all five dances and I ended up in tears due to their incredibly emotional rumba (and the fact that I was majorly fangirling…). I seriously thought it couldn’t get better than seeing them preform mere feet away from me, but then today happened!

I attended all three of their workshops today and am tired and a little achey, but I wouldn’t have passed up the experience for anything. During the first workshop, a lady’s styling one with just Yulia, she actually talked directly to me about my rumba walks and keeping my balance. She made eye contact with me and she smiled and she talked directly to me! That may have been what caused me to lose my balance…

In between the workshops I even got to talk to her about what else she does to supplement her dancing and what she would recommend other dancers do too. 

And at the end, even though Y&R had to leave quickly and catch their plane (and I didn’t get an individual picture :( ), we took a group photo and I was standing right next to her. 

Also, I have a lot more respect for Riccardo after this experience. I guess I just never really noticed him very much before (I mean, he dances with YULIA) but he is incredibly talented and a genuinely great guy. 

I’m not coming back down to earth anytime soon. I really just can’t believe this weekend was real. 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I’m going to go watch all the YouTube videos of them I can find. Again. 

No longer a teenager

I’ve been feeling nostalgic.

I spent about an hour going through all the pictures on my computer, some recent, some from k-8th grade, others still from high school. I came across a couple from the college tour I went on during my junior year. I ended up on Facebook looking for pictures from that specific adventure because they documented the beginning of my relationship with my boyfriend. In exactly two week, we’ll have been together for three years. At this point, it feels as if he’s always been a part of my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

I don’t really know why I’m writing this post…but I had fun reliving those memories and I’m so happy we’ve made it to where we are today. 

Today has made me happy to be a human. Usually I end the day fuming at people walking in to me, people texting or talking during class, people making noise while I’m trying to sleep etcetera, etcetera. But today was different! 

In my first class of the day, I commented on a girl’s nails. They were pink, with stripes and dots and I asked if she did them herself. She did, and explained to me how she did, and I told her how much I liked them. 

On returning to my dorm, I walked past the mail room where a small girl was getting three large packages from home. Another girl walking in front of me stopped and asked if she could help. The two of them walked with the packages to the elevator, introducing themselves along the way and talking about how fun it was to receive mail from home. 

In my second class of the day, we had papers to turn in. Now, it’s a giant lecture of 100+ people and I was planning on just waiting out the rush of people turning in their papers at the front of the room. However, the girl sitting a few seats next to me offered to take my paper up with hers. I was so surprised that I thanked her about five times. 

I dunno, it’s just a good day for people in my eyes. Thank you everyone for taking a minute and helping others just because you can. 

There was a young girl at the studio tonight. I would guess she was about twelve just from looking at her. I knew instantly that I had to go introduce myself, after all, that was me almost five years ago. I know that’s what I would have wanted if there had been someone like me at the studio when I first started. Someone who had been there, done that, someone I could relate to and possibly learn from. 

We got to talk a little bit. She and her dad are taking swing lessons together. I complimented her footwork. She expressed how much fun she was having. I was asked to dance so our conversation ended and then she left the studio with her dad. 

Just seeing her in the same sort of situation I was in a couple of years ago made me feel really nostalgic. Kind of the same way I felt when I realized the three teenagers visiting last Friday had been driven by their parents. 

I remember a time when my mom, nanny, or brother would have to drop me up and pick me up at the studio. I remember how much waiting I did in the corner of the studio. Waiting for my late chauffer, waiting for someone to ask me to dance, waiting for someone to talk to me, waiting for the night to be over. 

I don’t know when the shy, waiting version of me changed, but I’m so glad she did.

I have no idea what my life would be like now if I hadn’t continued taking lessons and attending group classes and parties at the studio. I do know that my life would feel so much emptier without the people I’ve met there. I also know I would have missed out on finding a true passion in my life in dancing. I also probably wouldn’t be certain I’d want to continue my studies at BU without my ballroom team waiting there for me. What else would I be doing with my Wednesday and Friday nights? What would I look forward to most when coming home for breaks from school? What would I do without a community to share my passion not only for dancing, but for sparkles and pretty nails? 

Okay, I know I would have discovered a couple of those things on my own somehow, but my point is that I’m so incredibly grateful for the community I’ve become a part of the past 5 years. I don’t know how my life would be without my little safe haven, and I don’t know how it has changed me, but I’m glad I am the person I am. And I think I am that person in large part because of this studio and the people in it. 

Did I really just spend 20 minutes bawling my eyes out because of Doctor Who?

Yes, yes I did. And I’m still trying to calm myself down. 

manymanis:

My rainbow hair!

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A partner should build you up rather than tear you down, right? Today, my latin dance teacher was talking about how it’s easier for a skilled male dancer to pull up a less skilled female dancer, and my partner looked directly at me. Not only was the look obnoxious, but he laughed when I feigned a hurt expression. That feigned expression turned real as soon as I realized that he, in fact, was not joking. 

Excuse me? Yes, I know I’m not the best dancer out there and I have a lot of work to do to improve. BUT, I have been dancing for almost five and a half years, and been a very dedicated dancer this whole time. Yes, I only started competing last semester, BUT, that was because he asked me to. I had wanted to improve a bit more before even thinking about competing or finding a partner. I definitely didn’t think I was good enough to jump right in and compete at the silver level. But I did. Because I am a nice person and he needed a partner, and apparently thought I was good enough. Now, I am apparently not good enough. Which, frankly, is complete bullshit. He’s a fucking gold dancer now because of the competitions he has done with me. There is no way he could have done that by himself and he certainly wasn’t getting there with any other partner. 

I have put up with a lot of shit without taking it personally or getting angry, but this is too much. I’m actually really tempted to stick by my earlier words and tell him to find another partner to dance with. 

The above rant is regarding a dance partnership, but I think it should probably be the same in any relationship. 

We’re discussing different types of gladiators in my Roman Civilization lecture. There’s one type (retiarius) that sounds a whole lot like Finnick. I’m gonna hole myself up in my room now and cry.