Yesterday, I got to attend a dance recital for my godchild and her cousin.
I never did dance lessons. I had a friend who did. I thought about it in 2nd grade, but someone mentioned that I should have started a couple of years earlier, and that I needed to drop a few pounds. So I put dance lessons out of my mind. I did Girl Scouts instead, and never thought about dance lessons again. I didn't bemoan the fact that yes, I probably should have dropped a few pounds of baby fat back then and didn't. I didn't wonder if I should have told whomever that they needed to stuff it. In the grand scheme of the cosmos, it was not this sad thing -- it just was. End of story.
Last night at the recital, there was a young lady in two of the segments. She was larger than everyone else up on stage, but OH MY STARS! She was having a grand time. She radiated pure joy. She gave everything she had to her dancing and from what I could tell, was simply happy to be there and happy to dance. And let me tell you -- she was good at it!
A part of me wanted to find her after the show, give her a huge hug and tell her, "You were sensational. I could see that you had a great love and great joy, and I want you to keep dancing your heart out." I hope her parents and loved ones encourage her every single day to keep doing what she's doing -- to not let anything or anyone stand in her way.
She'll probably never see this post, but if you do, and you know a girl who's ... ahem, different ... take the time to encourage her. Take the time to tell her to go for her fondest dreams and wishes. To dance like no one's watching.
I never did dance lessons. I had a friend who did. I thought about it in 2nd grade, but someone mentioned that I should have started a couple of years earlier, and that I needed to drop a few pounds. So I put dance lessons out of my mind. I did Girl Scouts instead, and never thought about dance lessons again. I didn't bemoan the fact that yes, I probably should have dropped a few pounds of baby fat back then and didn't. I didn't wonder if I should have told whomever that they needed to stuff it. In the grand scheme of the cosmos, it was not this sad thing -- it just was. End of story.
Last night at the recital, there was a young lady in two of the segments. She was larger than everyone else up on stage, but OH MY STARS! She was having a grand time. She radiated pure joy. She gave everything she had to her dancing and from what I could tell, was simply happy to be there and happy to dance. And let me tell you -- she was good at it!
A part of me wanted to find her after the show, give her a huge hug and tell her, "You were sensational. I could see that you had a great love and great joy, and I want you to keep dancing your heart out." I hope her parents and loved ones encourage her every single day to keep doing what she's doing -- to not let anything or anyone stand in her way.
She'll probably never see this post, but if you do, and you know a girl who's ... ahem, different ... take the time to encourage her. Take the time to tell her to go for her fondest dreams and wishes. To dance like no one's watching.
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