Dear Dance Major,

First off, I want to say that I am proud of you. Whether or not you realize it now, you are doing something very brave. You are doing something many others were scared to -- follow your heart. You picked your major based on passion, not on convenience or what you thought might make you rich in the future (if you chose dance to get rich, you should just quit now). Remember that passion, because it will get you through a lot of tough times.

What you’ve decided to do is difficult, mentally and physically. A dance major doesn’t get that typical “college experience.” Your friends won’t understand your long hours, your aching body, or your composition assignments. Relatives will ask you if you "just dance all day" and wonder about your post-graduation plans because they aren't sure if dance is a viable career. You'll wave to your friends as they leave for the bars because you know that being hungover for your 9 A.M. ballet class just isn't worth it.

You'll have a different college experience, but a great one. Yours will be filled with classmates who will become your best friends because no one else understands (and let's face it, you rarely leave the dance building anyway). It will be filled with professors who will become your mentors after spending so much time with you in classes and rehearsals. It will be filled with opportunities to make and see art and be inspired every day.

You will learn so much here. The dancer you walk in as on the first day of freshman year will be completely different than the one who leaves on graduation day. You will learn artistry, creativity, breath, weight, and form a mind/body connection that you didn’t even know was there. Some days you will think back to the tricks and high kicks you could do in high school and wonder if you have really improved, but I promise you have.

Some days will be hard; hard to get out of bed, hard to focus in the studio, just plain hard. And on those days, what got me through was thinking about how lucky I was. While other students are falling asleep in a crowded lecture hall, you are doing what you love most. Dancing is sharing yourself; it’s being vulnerable and opening yourself up to anyone who will watch. This place and these people have amazing things to offer if you open yourself up to them. Just remember: life is good, but it's better when you're dancing!

You will do great,

A soon-to-be dance alumni