Thinking back on this year, it feels like there must have been at least a few years packed into the last 365 days.  I could measure the year by the number of miles I flew on airplanes, the number of hours I spent rehearsing in the studio, or the number of lessons I learned about dancing and growing up–and those would all be some pretty big numbers.

I think the most important lesson I’ve learned this year, or re-learned and continuously remind myself, is that everything is a process.  Change will never come over night, and if it does, it’s probably not the sort of change you want.  I’ve learned that lesson from dancing more than anything else.  As a dancer, your technique improves little by little every day as long as you work at it consciously.  You can’t force your body to suddenly have exquisite arms, perfect castanets, crisp and clear footwork–that all comes little by little with lots and lots of hard work.  And it’s the same when it comes to being a better person–little by little you work to undo unhealthy patterns in your life and be a kinder person. Hence, life and dance take quite a bit of patience.  There is no arriving; we must constantly be moving forward and working toward more goals.

So on that note, I’ll ring in the new year by making my own list of all the things I’m ready to improve on in 2014 and what I can do to achieve those goals.  (One of those goals will be to do a better job of keeping this blog updated!)

….And I’m going to keep dreaming big and keep working hard. And I can’t wait for another year!

I hope your year is filled with with lots of joy, love, learning, and hopefully some flamenco too!!!!

…And as a reminder to always dream big, I’m going to share a page I found in a journal of mine from when I was 8 years old….I’ve come a long way as a dancer, and I have a VERY long way to go still. There will always be moments when I want to quit, but knowing those moments are well worth working through makes it possible to keep going.  Finding this also made me so thankful for all my family, teachers, mentors, and friends who have helped me achieve my dreams–I wouldn’t be where I am without any of them!

“I still have the dream of being a great dancer.
I’ve been in the NM [New Mexico] Ballet productions
and will perform [in] one soon, it opens April 20.
I love dance, but last year there was a time when I almost quit,
but I didn’t, and I’m glad I didn’t.
I hope that I will fulfill my dream of being a dancer.”

And check out the illustration of a ballerina on the opposite page…
good thing I pursued dance and not drawing and painting 😛