What Means the Most to Me

Standing behind a gargantuan, intimidating, curtain waiting to go on the equally gargantuan, intimidating stage is quite a unique feeling. There’s a wash of white light on the stage and a wall of black; you can’t really see the audience, but you know they’re there. We’re standing in lines, waiting for either someone to shout “5, 6, 7, 8” at the top of their lungs or for our music to start, cueing our entrance. The crowd is either dead silent or moms are screaming words of encouragement. Thoughts like I hope my hair isn’t messed up, or oh great, I have to pee now?! aren’t uncommon in the realm of pre-performance anticipation. No matter how long we’ve been practicing a routine, perfection every second, there’s always a part of the dance that could go horribly wrong without attention and care; someone on the team is reminding us to listen, listen, listen. She scoots back to her place in line, we get our cue, and our performance commences.

You put on a smile, there’s no turning back now. It’s showtime, and there isn’t another feeling like it.

We live in a big, beautiful, and complicated world. There’s about 7 billion people on this planet we call home: that’s 7 billion distinct and diverse individuals, each with loves and passions, aspirations, hopes and dreams. Every person that walks this earth has a different background, a different story to tell. We all have different wants and needs, traits and qualities that make us who we are. Our passions for the things we love shape us human beings into the people that we are. Well, what is passion? Passion is a boundless enthusiasm for something, and intense, uncontrollable love for said thing. Our passions make us happy because they offer us a sense of belonging; an unexplainable love. Synonyms include ardor, fervor, zeal, fire. Nothing can make you feel so great, nothing can take it away from you.

Everyone has passions, passions of doing something, passions of being something. Some are gifted in athletics, defined by the sport they play and the number they wear. Some may be affectionate towards music and the arts; someone’s interests could be as bizarre as skydiving or as simple as collecting bottle caps. You don’t have to be good at playing the harmonica or you could be the best croquet player in the world. It doesn’t matter if you’re the star quarterback or the rookie tuba player in your high school band- if you love what you do, there’s really only one rule: you keep going.

For me, my passion in life has always been dancing. Every aspect, every facet- the fluid movements, the expressions, the costumes, the stage lights, and obviously the glitter. It is every Monday night where you’ll find me at the studio- Mary Jane’s School of Dance, in Greene, Maine. In acro, we’re either working on stretching our splits past 180 degrees or landing perfect back walkover splits. In pointe, our toes and ankles burn as we work at the barre, all of our body weight on our tippy toes. Ballet is where we practice grace and fluid turns, jazz is where we stretch and jump around. Tap class rolls around and we’re working on double pullbacks, where there must be four distinct sounds, but no heels on the floor. Some weeks classes fly by, others, they seem to drag on forever. Competition practices are kind of like this, only intensified about ten fold. Whether I’m on stage in front of judges or my family and friends, dancing and performing has shaped who I am. Even though this is fairly exclusive to me (and other dancers of course), there’s nothing that’s as exciting and adrenaline-pumping as standing backstage, waiting for the music to turn on. It does, and a mega-watt smile is plastered to your face, whether you like it or not, and it’s showtime. When there’s hundreds of eyes on me, full costume, hair, and makeup, I am at the peak of my happiness. It defines me.

But, that’s my passion, and that’s only one passion out of billions and billions. There are people that devote their time and energy to sports like field hockey or basketball, and there are people who obsess over learning languages or acting. No matter what it is, it should make you feel indescribably happy. You could be an expert or a novice, you just have to try your best and enjoy it. When you find something that you love with all of your heart, you put 100% of your effort into it, 100% of everything you have. And that’s it- it’s pure love.