4. dance again

Alright. Last one, and then you guys don't have to read about my new year's resolutions any longer! {Except when I update about how great I'm doing at them, right?}It's kind of crazy for me to think that the majority of people in my life today don't associate me with dance in some form or fashion. So, a tiny bit of background is necessary. I come from a ballet family. My great-grandmother, Leila Haller (where I get my middle name from) was a soloist with the Paris Opera Ballet, and upon her return to the states founded her own ballet school in New Orleans-Haller Classique Ballet. Her daughter, my grandmother, would take over, and eventually begin another school in Covington. Her daughter, my mother, would take over the New Orleans school, eventually sell it, and help my grandmother run her school in my hometown of Covington. I started taking classes at the age of 3, and would continue to dance until I graduated high school. Ballet was, and will always be, my first love. For me, it's always been the perfect mixture of finding yourself and losing yourself. Even when I'm out of practice and haven't danced in months, my body knows exactly what it's doing when I walk into that studio. It may not be able to do it quite as well as is used to, but it knows.

When I came to college, I all but abandoned this thing that had been a huge part of my life since I could walk. I contribute part of my quitting to the fact that I'm a ballet snob and knew I would never find another school that held a candle to Haller Classic, and it didn't seem reasonable at the time to drive back and forth every week. But I also let it go because I took my talents and passions for granted. I never knew how much I loved ballet until I quit. I never knew how deep in my soul my connection with it ran until I wasn't doing it anymore. This year, I've been taking an assessment of what's really important to me and what's not. The things that I'm doing because I feel like I'm supposed to be {i.e. social media,  hating my body, etc.} and the things I'm not doing that I want to be {dancing, documenting life better, etc.}I hate that I've abandoned my passions because "I'm too busy". That's such crap. This life is so short, and being in college or having a full time job is really no excuse for not taking part in the things you love. And even more than that, it's a pretty terrible excuse for wasting your God-given talents. I know that that can really come across as a humble-brag, like "look how good at ballet I am!", but I'm not bragging. I'm just acknowledging that God gives us all talents {mine are mostly writing and dancing, give me a paint brush and I'm worthless), and a lot of us are wasting them.

I've been out of the dance game for 4 years, but tomorrow marks my return. I'm going to start making the drive to Covington for class once a week. I'm going to start embracing the passion God placed in me for ballet, and try to find a way to glorify Him through it. I'm really, ridiculously excited about this resolution. So yes, I'm aware that I'm starting to sound a little bit like a motivational speaker (I can only hope that I'll one day be of Matt Foley caliber), but if you're passionate about something, please keep doing it. If you're sitting there realizing you don't have any real passions, this is such an awesome moment to committing yourself to finding one!

Resolution #4: dance again

Is there something you're passionate about that you've abandoned? Ready to go back?

resolution #1: write a book
resolution #2: start a revolution
resolution #3: un-connect