Gratitude

I have so much to be thankful for.

And honestly, expressing gratitude has been something I've struggled with. I tend to hold it in, and I recognize how thankful I am, but I don't express it for others to see how thankful I am.

Which kinda defeats the purpose, and doesn't help anyone but maybe myself.

So I decided that for the month of December, my goal is gonna be to express my gratitude as much as I can. Not so much my gratitude for material objects, but for the people I've met in the past 16 years. I've been so lucky to meet so many amazing people that have changed my life completely, and I'm realizing that I've never really told a lot of these people how big of an effect they've had on my life. And if I have told them, I haven't told them to what extent. I think that there's no time like the present, and in the spirit of the holidays and giving, I think December is very fitting. So we'll see how it goes.

Every week I've been trying to share a dance that either goes along with my post, or that I've been thinking about or that I like this week. This week's has nothing to do with being thankful, but I've been loving this song and this dance for quite some time, but especially today.

"I have learned that the more thankful I am, the more I have to be thankful for."

Just Another Manic Monday.

It's an Adele kinda Monday. 

I've been thinking all day about what to blog about on this beautiful Monday afternoon, but I've come up with nothing. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. 

Life's kinda crazy like that, Last Monday I had so many ideas about what I should write, to the point where I agreed to do this weekly. But now, I'm a little stuck. (Sidenote:"When We Were Young" always makes me cry :/ )

I started rewatching Red Band Society this weekend and it made me lowkey miss freshman year. It seems like it was forever and a half ago, but in the grand scheme of things it wasn't. Which kinda weirds me out. I still have so much living left to do, so many more memories to make, so many more lessons to learn. I've only been on this planet for 16 years, and it's felt like an eternity. I'm so excited to make a name for myself, in whatever means that is. Sometimes high school just seems to be moving SO slow, I'm just ready to move on with my life and do what I want to do, not sit in a classroom for 35 hours a week. I understand it's "Preparing us for the real world", but sometimes it feels so monotonous and repetitive that it's setting me back from where I should be in my life and what I should be doing. None of this makes sense because I still have no idea what I want to do after high school, but it's fine. really. 

I think I wanna get into photography and videography. Not as a career path, but as a hobby. I honestly think that would be so fun, all I need is some people/things to shoot. We'll see how long this lasts... might as well document it here and put it out there. IF ANYONE WANTS TO BE A PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY MODEL (or if anyone is actually reading this blog post) LEMME KNOW!

This Monday's post has been an interesting one. I'm gonna throw in a random video because why not. Until next blog,

-DBau

This dance is "Open Hands" by Joanne Chapman School o f Dance. It gives me chills every time I watch it and it deserves way more recognition in my opinion so here ya go.

"What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven't happened yet"

Transience

Transience. 

It seems like such a big word. but basically all it does is put the cliché "nothing lasts forever" into one word. Transience. There's this spoken word dance I've been thinking about a lot lately, called "Existential Bummer". The audio is from a video by a man named Jason Silva, and in it, he mentions the transience of nature, which leads into the discussion of the shortness of relationships, and life itself. 

Me, as a 16-year-old who has never dated anyone, tend to put the word "relationship" into the context of friends, and family, and other people of that sort instead of a romantic standpoint. I do that more often than not, and in this instance it really hit home to me that nothing lasts forever, no matter how hard we try. It's crazy to think that 4 years ago, I was friends with none of the people I'm friends with now. And I always thought those would be the friends I would have until I'm in the grave. It's shocking how quickly those things can change.

In the Existential Bummer dance, it questions what we should do. Do we give up on life and love completely, because "Hey! it won't last anyways!" Or do we love even harder and grow an even deeper relationship with the people we have and make the most of whatever time we have on this earth?


I'm siding with the latter.


This year, I've tried to turn myself into more of a "half glass full" kinda gal, and it's going great for me so far. I wanna see how far I can take it. I just want to inspire people and be happy. Lately, I've realized I'd rather be broke and happy than well off and stuck with the life I've picked. I have a feeling my future finances will not thank me for this mindset, but it will all be okay. It's fine. It always is fine. I hope you do the same, just dive in to everything you do with no regrets. Because in the end, everything has TRANSIENCE.

"Better an oops than a what if"

Change

"Nothing will ever change if you don't do anything about it."

 If you have even the slightest interest in the dance world, you've probably heard about the "Cat vs. Molly" debate. If not, long story short, Cat and Molly are two choreographers. Molly is know for her (in lack of better words) scandalous jazz dances, and Cat is a choreographer/competition judge that is looking for a change in the world of dance for over-sexualizing dancers in order to win. All personal opinions aside, I thought it was very impressive how strong Cat was with her opinions and call for change. A lot of people called her out on her delivery, and she went back and explained her reasoning for singling out one person. She wanted change.  This whole situation has taught me that nothing will change if you don't do anything about an issue. Bad behavior will continue, and it will become a vicious cycle that is very hard to get out of very quickly. 

A year ago today was the worst day of my life, as far as I can remember. I was at an all time low, and it seemed like it couldn't possibly get any worse. But I gave myself two days before deciding I needed a change. Thankfully, I started camp that day. I changed my attitude, improved myself, and I saw that my situation wasn't actually god awful. I wouldn't have ever got out of that pit if I didn't do anything about it.

As I see it, nothing is ever permanent. If you see an issue with something, it's never too late to do something about it. TAKE A STAND. FIGHT BACK. CHANGE YOUR WORLD. MAKE IT YOURS. 

"It's not about what it is, it's about what it can become."  -Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

Fly.

Flying is literally the coolest thing ever. You can get across the country in a matter of hours. A trip that was meant to take weeks, even months, can be condensed in the span of a few hours. I may sound old fashioned, but we as a society tend to overthink how lucky we are to have great things to make life easier and more enjoyable such as planes. The view of your world from a plane is paralleled by no other. Planes offer a glimpse of what your entire normality. Planes have a strange way of making your life fell so small and insignificant to the world, yet making you feel like nothing else matters but you right in that moment as you look out that window. It's fascinating to me just how small we really are compared to the world. What may seem like our biggest downfall may not even affect the couple that lives next door, or even your siblings in the room down the hall. There's mountains taller than clouds, buildings that can hold hundreds of thousands, roads that stretch through entire states, and then there's me, who believes that my problems should cause everyone else to fall to their knees. Planes have a way of making you think about the bigger picture. They're a reality check in their own. They sweep you off the ground and into the air to marvel at the bountiful universe that you and all of your insignificant problems are a part of. Your personal downfalls will not matter in the end. you'll get back up one way or another. For me, I personally hope to get back up in a plane at sunset, watching the light of day fade to the darkness of night, providing a sense of security that life does indeed go on.

Dance is So Cool

Delaney's Random Obsession of the Day. And Kinda Her Life. 

DANCE IS LITERALLY THE COOLEST THING EVER WOW!!

So I had my first dance competition of the season at the beginning of the month, and I learned so much. 

Some random things I learned:

• Improv isn't that hard. - It's actually very freeing once you realize that there's no wrong answer when you're making things up as you go.
• Pay attention to details. - This is really important not only in dance, but in everyday life. The details are what makes your life different from anyone's.
• Listen to new music. - Honestly music is so cool, and there's so much more out there than Taylor Swift and Ari Grande (don't get me wrong, I definitely cried at both of their concerts). Try to find one new artist a week and listen to one of their albums. It will take like a half hour. I've started doing this and I've found so many different sounds that I would have never found on the Top 40 section of iTunes.
• Be a little bit more you. - You are really cool. Promise. Let people see more of yourself a little bit more each day. Even if you think you're the weirdest person in the world. A lot of people like weird. Weird is cool. 
• Don't be afraid. Life is way too short to be scared of anything, honestly. If you spend your whole life in fear, you're never gonna know what to do when the time comes when you have to be brave.
• Kill the game. Literally live your entire life. Just go kill it.

I also learned another lesson that isn't really "random". It's too important for that list: Why can't we all just be nice?

Over the competition weekend, I saw (and heard) a LOT. And a lot of it wasn't positive. I honestly think it's insane that of all places to be mean, we were at a dance competition. Observers are making nasty comments about people doing what they love. Although some competitors are there just to win, the vast majority are there to learn, be inspired, and grow. How are dancers supposed to grow in such a bitter environment? It's enough pressure to be judged by the judges, I don't think there is any way for the extra commentary from the peanut gallery in the audience. There is a difference between "healthy competition" and belittling young children. Some people need to learn the difference still.

And this leads me to the convention room. Take one look around, and there are little clumps all over the room. Dancers tend to gravitate towards others from their studio. This past convention, I made it a point to go across the room from my studio. I had such an amazing weekend. Don't get me wrong, I'm obsessed with everyone at my studio, and I can't imagine doing this with anyone else! But I think the best part of dance is the networking and meeting new people. I feel like so many dancers are missing out on this part of the dance world because they're too focused on the final destination or scholarship or trophy or ribbon or whatever the prize may be. If you think about it, that piece of paper or plastic or metal won't matter in ten years for most dancers. That $100 cash prize or 50% discount on the next convention city will be used in a year. I think the journey to that final prize is the coolest part of dance. I've met so many cool people through dance. I have friends in California, Canada, Montana, DC, Pennsylvania, Montana, all over Ohio, and so many more places all because of dance. I would never have met these friends if I didn't step away from my studio and dance to other dancers. Once again, I'm obsessed with my studio, but it's not wrong to be nice to people who don't dance at the same studio as you.

A lot of dancers seem to forget that we're all at competitions and conventions for the same reason -- to dance. We're all obviously doing that already, so why not be nice while you're doing it?

Although a lot of my friendships with other dancers were formed by "just being nice", another big lesson I learned not only at my competition, but from dance in general, is Take risks.

I've had so many teachers tell me this throughout my years as a dancer, but it's just now starting to stick. I've seen myself change so much as a dancer since last competition season, and it's all because of my teachers pushing me to take risks. You'll never move if you don't take risks. One day, you're not going to dance anymore. I think we should make the most of however much time we have left to dance and be adventurous. Make your own moves. Leave your own little legacy. You'll never be remember if you're not risky. Look at all the names remembered in history. I can guarantee you won't be able to name one that never took a risk. 

So overall, I would say I had a good weekend. I think dance is so cool and I probably always will. I think the coolest thing about dance is how everything you learn through dance can be transferred over to real life. I've grown so much as a person because of dance and I don't think I would e the person I am today because of dance, and I'm honestly so thankful for it. Go live your life.

Quote of the blog post: "Ten years from now, make sure you can say that you chose your life, you didn't settle for it."

Cheers to the madness

I'm back and fiercer than ever.

The amount of times I've used that quote is kind of ridiculous. I got my phone back ,and could finally text my friends again, and I realized how awesome my friends actually are. I honestly missed them so much. It's currently 11:56 pm on a Monday and I'm sitting here writing a blog post lol not even sorry. 

Competition Madness Begins.

It's (almost) officially the start of the dance competition season, and I've already had such a great dance season. I've learned so much about myself and how to live and how I dance since the season started and it feels great. Here's some great lessons I've learned that I feel like everyone could learn from.

If you commit, go all in and stick with it.

This is super important. If you're gonna show up to whatever you're doing, you might as well show up and put in 200% effort to what you're doing. Begin engulfing yourself in whatever you do, and it will eventually feel like second nature. I've started going 200% more often this year, and it's already starting to pay off. We only have so much time to do what we gotta do, so I say we go all in and conquer the world.

Also, once you say you're gonna do something, don't just throw the towel in in the middle of the job. Finish what you've committed to. 

Be passionate.

If you're not passionate about what you're doing, then honestly why are you doing it? If you're passionate about what you're doing, then it will be so much more enjoyable to live your life. Find something you're passionate and run as far as you possibly can with it. Take your passions to levels you didn't know were possible to reach. 

Don't be hurtful.

Nasty people are awful to be around. We all have those people in our lives that we absolutely cannot love no matter how hard we try. Don't be that person for someone else. It's so cliche, but if we all just treated each other how we want to be treated, the world would be such a cool place to be. 

This is kind of a shorter post, but I just realized that sleep is kind of an important thing...

Quote of the post: "Success is the sweetest revenge."