If you were a dancer, you know that life as a dancer was a little bit different. You could possibly have had anywhere between one and seven days of the week spent at the studio. Growing up a dancer wasn't always easy, but it was most definitely worth it! Every person who grew up a dancer knows these things to be totally true.
You had to use the excuse: "I can't. I have dance." One, two or a million times.
You might have missed out on some really cool birthday parties or you possibly could have missed out on a few school dances here and there, but it's okay! Even though you might have missed some things, you were becoming a better person by being at the studio.
You couldn't wait to get you license so you could drive yourself to dance class.
Let's face it, we all couldn't wait to get our license so we could be the cool kids at the studio who got to drive ourselves. We wouldn't have to wait for our parents to pick us up if they were running just a little bit late, we could spend that extra five minutes chit-chatting with our dance friends, and most importantly, we could have the freedom to come and go to the studio as we please.
You would practice dance moves you learned the night before in class in the cafeteria the next day.
We've all been there. People look at you funny in the lunch line while you're marking the new combination you made up to Katy Perry's new song in dance class last night. What they don't know is that you look for any free time to practice because dance = life. You would get even funnier looks when you would bust out a tap move in the line. Because let's all face it, tap is all about the sounds so some of the moves are a little funky.
You would sleep in your leotard and tights some nights.
This never seemed to happen on purpose but sometimes, you would come home so exhausted, finish your homework and fall asleep. Dance was tiring along with school too!
Sometimes your homework would have to wait until homeroom at school...
Again, this wasn't on purpose, but sometimes you just had to do what you had to do. If simple enough, homework could wait until the next day at school when you had a free moment. Ha... A free moment....
You know one more time never meant one more time.
It was what happened. The teacher would say one more time, and it usually meant at least two if not twenty.
There were weeks when you saw your dance teachers more than you saw your parents.
Even though your parents drove you to and from class, there were weeks when you saw your dance teachers more than you saw your parents. Your dance teachers even became your second parents. They looked out for you, made sure you followed the rules, and made sure you were loved.
Most importantly, you knew you had people to call your friends and a place to call home.
Because as my dance teacher always told us, your best friends are made at the studio.