1. As Far As You're Concerned Numbers Don't Go Past Eight:

"5,6,7,8!" = "1,2,3 go!" One through eight are the only numbers you can count to while doing anything; it's the only form of math you can confidently do, and yes "and" is also considered a number.

2. French Can Be Considered Your Second Language:

All dance, is all French, all the time; and not only can you speak it, you can spell it too; so unfortunately, as much as you wish it did, you know that "Fondue," does not mean you'll be getting chocolatey treat.

3. You Know Any And Every "Oldies" Song Because Odds Are You Danced To It At Least Once:

The "Oldies" are a dance teachers favorite "go to." No matter what year it currently is, at a competition, recital, or even just in a class, you WILL at some point hear something from "back in the day," and at least have a small combo to it.

4. When You're Out, Hearing A Song You've Danced To Isn't A Cute Time To Reminisce, It's A Personal Challenge From The Dance God's To See How Well You Remember Your Dance From 5 Years Ago:

No matter if you're out at a bar, shopping in the grocery store, or walking down the street, once you hear a song come on that you've danced to; your body immediately starts breaking out into the full routine, and you can't even help it! Especially if you're out with a group of friends you've danced with, it's like all of you automatically get into formation, and start a scene from High School Musical.

5. You Have Such A Conflicting Relationship With Those Three Little Words That Mean So Much To You: "Time To Stretch"

Some days this phrase is the savior to your soreness; a time to prepare and de-stress your bodies tightness for the day; and then other days it's the start off to your impending doom. You're so sore the thought of stretching actually makes you want to curl up in a ball and hold your muscles as close together as they possibly can be, because you know that stretching them is going to result in a day of body aching pain.

6. You Hate The Phrase "Across The Floor" Almost As Much As You Can Hate The Phrase: "Time To Stretch:"

Leaps, Turns, Kicks, it doesn't matter, you hate it all going across the floor. While you may be able to do it perfectly every other time; across the floor is not your time to shine, it's the wonderful, confidence killing time to be picked apart and corrected in front of everyone.

7. You Know The Tennis Ball Isn't Really For Tennis Players:

Despite What most people think, you know that the tennis ball was actually invented specially for dancers as the cheapest, most convenient, portable sized roller for your ridiculous amount of feet and leg cramps.

8. The Word "Spot" Is Not A Noun It's A Verb:

When your teacher screams "SPOT," you know it isn't because she sees a mark on the floor, or because she wants to warn you that there is a stain on your shorts; it's because that little four letter word, is one of the two main determining factors in executing your turns, along with your core.

9. You Know "Take It From The Top" Doesn't Mean "Take It From Highest, Uppermost Part Of Something":

Taking it from the "top," means starting from the beginning of the routine, or the from the start of a certain set of eight counts; and you don't understand why that concept is so hard for other people to understand...?

10. You Can Find How To Connect Dance To Any Sport; For Example:

When you hear a soccer player say, " We won on a P.K ." You automatically think about them on the field, in cleats and high socks, doing a turned out pirouette you learn in ballet class; not a penalty kick. When you hear a swimmer talking about their "Butterfly," you think about your favorite easy stretch; not a swimming form. And when you see someone do "Shoulder Role," in volleyball, you wish that you could tell them to be more graceful, straighten their legs, and point their toes, but remind yourself their just trying to dive for a ball....Anyway you get the picture, dance is everywhere.

11. Not Only Is Dance Everywhere, But It Has Helped You With Everything:

Dancers have to be adaptable, agile, strong, and quick! Nine out of 10 times, you know better than anyone else, that if you have participated, or played any other sport, that it has come easier to you; because dance has made you a stronger, more well rounded athlete.

12. You Love When People Ask What You Do To Work Out, Because Most Of The Time It's Like You Don't Have To:

Dance engages every single part of your body, arms, legs, abs, butt, you name it, it's getting worked out; and when you're actively doing it every day, you don't have to do much else; because its a such a huge work out in itself! The beauty of getting your work out from dance is that it never feels like a chore; you can get in your cardio and get your rockin' body while having fun doing something you love!

13. Your Abs Are Your Group Of Best Friends And You're Always Looking To Expand Your Circle :

You could have a six pack, you could have an eight pack; it will never be good enough if you don't know how to use it; and regardless of how good you think it is, it can always be improved. "Use your center," and "Work on your core" are two phrases you will hear every day of your career. You even find yourself watching T.V. doing crunches or walking around sucking your stomach in, just to practice engaging your core, because it's the entire root of everything you do.

14. You Know If You Hear A Dancer Say "I Can't Even Walk," It Isn't Exaggeration Or Code For "I'm So Sore;" It Literally Means We Did So Much That We Can Not Even Walk:

We don't over exaggerate, in fact we under exaggerate most of the time just so we can keep going. "One more time," never actually means one more time, and we have no concept of "limits," because we're constantly pushing them. We force our bodies to do unnatural things, such as bending, twisting, contorting, and so much more; so when we are in a little bit of pain, we only consider it to be normal. Most of the time we don't find out we've broken way past our limit until it's too late; and even then we don't like to let ourselves stop.

15. Eat, Sleep, Breathe, Dance... Wait, There's Not Enough Time For All Of That!:

Six to eight hours of sleep? Three Square Meals a Day? It's more like six to eight hours of dance at least, and snacks during water breaks; especially right before competitions! During "crunch time," you're dancing just about as much as you breathe and there is very little time for anything in between. If you get a break to eat, half the time you're not hungry, because you're so exhausted; and even then, if you try to sleep instead, you're dreaming about your dances and all of the corrections you just learned.

16. When You Can Relate To Having The Same Muscle Pains And Joint Problems As Your Grandma...:

It's always an interesting time having to go to the doctor for injuries or pains. They never fail to enter the room, looking at you, all wide eyed and overly concerned after reading the forms listing all of your aches and pains... "Yes, I am only 20 something. Yes, my body is actually 80 something. I dance, it's normal. Moving on."

17. One Of The Worst Questions You Think You Could Ever Be Asked is, "OMG You're A Dancer? Can You Do A Split?"

Yes. We can do a split. We learn how to do a split when we're like four; it's really not that cool, and it describes none of our actual dance abilities.

You Have Three Very Valid, Very True, Very Real Excuses For Why You Can't Do Things:

18. "I Can't, I Have Dance Then."

19. "I'd Rather Not, Because I Have Dance Later."

20. "I Would, But I Just Got Done With Dance."

Yes, these are the excuses that you will always use 99% of the time; and yes, they are the excuses your friends are so sick of hearing; but that doesn't make them any less true! People don't understand how much time we put into dancing and how tired it makes us. If we aren't currently dancing we're sleeping to rest before; and if we just got done with dance, the only thing we want to do is sleep after. We cant help it, it's just how our lives work!

21. Dancing Isn't What You Do, It's Who You Are:

You can tell a dancer by the way they walk... and that's mostly because we don't actually walk anywhere, we dance instead. Dancers can't seem to move without a strut in their step, a sway in their hips, or a rhythm to their beat; it's almost physically impossible for us. Dancing stretches through our blood, leaps through our bones, and turns its way completely around our body. For us, dancing isn't a choice or something we do just for fun; it's an instinct!