Ode to My Adventure

Graduation was this past Friday. It was an emotional day for me, dude. Those speeches and performances were the bomb diggity and really summed up the work and the sweat and the feelings and the purpose of our school. And those people who were there are incredible. We had quite the year, let me tell you.

The balloon arch at graduation was a nice touch, and so were the pizza and waffle trucks...but they don't hold a candle to the school year we celebrated there.

This year

We danced a lot.
Sometimes more than I had strength for
but we sang even more
and I love to sing.
Those sheer, floaty skirts,
--you know the ones I'm talking about?--
add some nice character to a leotard and tights.

The year was not what I expected,
but it was what I would have hoped for if I had dared hope that much.

The year was also rough.
I wasn't always happy.
There were friendships tarnished by smoke plus a lack of trust,
but I think that if the smoke was the only thing in the equation, those friendships would still be intact.

Dance Showcases are a good place to shed some tears
because the artistry and movement tell some of my favorite stories.
because there are people that I love up there dancing.
because there are people that I love in the audience watching me dance.

There were so many tears. SO many tears
in class, at home, in front of teachers, in front of friends.
There was so much growth that I saw in myself and in others.
So much to learn, so much to stress about, so much to be afraid of...
so many fears to conquer.
So many fears I did conquer.

There was uncertainty with many things. That uncertainty has attached itself to our school with super glue

but it's the uncertainty that makes it an adventure.

It's not an adventure everyone is meant to go on...everyone has to find their own adventure...

and I did find mine this year. I found where I was supposed to go,



 and I went.