Until Next Season.

Hey guys! I hope you're all doing well tonight or today! Today I wanted to talk about something that has really brought clarity to who I am, who I want to be and what I want to do for the rest of my life.. so lets dive into the rare lighter part of my mind.

 I started coaching a varsity high school dance team this past November and the season is slowly coming to an end, and when I say slowly... I mean VERY slow..too slow if I'm being honest. As I look back on the couple of months that I was teaching practice every single weekday from three to five.  (and sometimes much later!) I truly have learned a lot about myself, working with other people, respecting authority, (If you know me, you know I laugh in the face of authority!) and how to work with a group of teenage females. These are all things I thought I knew very well, I mean I have a younger sister how hard could teenage girls really be? Well homeboy! They are not easy, and kinda scary if I'm being honest. 

I started coaching later in the season due to some misunderstandings, but that wasn't going to hold me back! I am beyond passionate about teenagers and dance! I would never deny any opportunity to be involved with both. Understandably, the girls didn't take a liking to me at first (and some still don't like me) but I wasn't there for a popularity contest, I was there to challenge them as dancers and to expand their definition of the word "dance" and if I did anything else in the process that's awesome! If I didn't that's cool too. 

There was an obnoxious amount of drama from day one, before I was even part of the coaching staff and it just got worse with time. "So and so said this", "I don't like this girl" , "I dance better than everyone", "why does she get to be captain?"... blah blah blah. It had been never ending. Routines weren't done in time, a coach had to leave the team, this person only wanted to learn hip hop dances, this person couldn't do this move, there was someone sick every practice. When I tell you the drama was endless... it was endless! I wanted to quite so many times! I wanted to yell and scream and say bad words but there was one thing holding me back from doing all of the above. Any guesses? I'll wait...It's one word.... anything? 

Passion. My passion kept me grounded and reminded me why I was there in the first place! It wasn't so my routines looked amazing and everyone got every move, It wasn't for endless praise for spending my evenings coaching a bunch of emotional teenage girls, it wasn't for Instagram likes and proving myself  to the dance world. I was there to challenge them as dancers! Which I truly believe I did. However, they challenged me way more! They challenged me as a person, an educator, a coach, a dancer and my patients... they definitely challenged my patients. Within that they confirmed what I wasn't a 100% sure of, Secondary education. I now fully believe that God has put that calling on my life. After coaching and having this experience  I'm so excited and scared to continue on this journey. What had really made it all worth the drama and stress was seeing the light in my dancers faces when they were excited about a dance or the light turn on after working so hard to get a move and finally not only getting it, but nailing it! Yes, this season was stressful, unpredictable, crazy, and endless drama! But it was also informative, fun, exciting and totally worth the endless drama. I'm so excited for next season!
That's all for not city dreamers,
XOXO
Des.