Ballet Changes

I have purposefully been waiting to write this post. It was too raw to write the words four weeks ago when the news broke. I couldn't even really tell my close family and friends, I had to send them an email. Obviously, I was not ready to let go, even though I knew it was the right decision. 

It has been a long school year for my girl in many ways. More positives than negatives, but a lot of growing has taken place in the last five and a half months. She is learning the art of decision making in a lot of areas in her life. From academics, to social, to extra curricular activities. She is thirteen and she is learning young that her voice matters, and the choices she makes matter too. 

From the first day of ballet class this year my girl was hit with a surprise. Her teacher was surprised to find her feet had shifted (for a lack of a better word) and things were no longer looking like they had been the years prior, even months prior. A doctor's visit revealed the use of over the counter Orthodics, which she has worn daily. Her decision about ballet came with a price of needing to push and work hard to overcome what her feet had decided to do.

She continued ballet class, working hard, and trying her best through October. 

But then her attitude started to change. She was no longer loving it ~ the passion was starting to diminish. Pointe Shoes were an amazing accomplishment, but even that reward was not keeping her passion alive. She was slowly changing. 

There were many family discussion nights - pep rallies if you will from her parents to keep her spirits up. We hired a personal trainer to help train her outside of the ballet class. She worked upstairs in her personal studio, but with much effort. We played the tough parent role, we played the easy-going parent role, we played the "it is your choice" role. She kept fighting through her unhappy no matter the parental role we played. She needed time to work this out with herself. 

And then it just came down to a moment when we knew it was time to stop. She flat out asked to stop. She was done. Eight years of solid dancing and she wanted to hang up her ballet shoes and move on to a new passion. She was not quitting, she was making a new decision. 

She has fought plenty of adversity through her dancing career:  dancing Exams with pneumonia, and double ear infections, attending Coaching classes with low grade fevers so as not to miss, and dancing in a Final Show with a severely sprained toe (verdict is out if it was broken). She knows what it means to stick with it, to overcome adversity, to follow through, to never stop believing in herself, to work hard! 

No, she is not quitting and we have reassured her of that. She has grown into the young lady she is today because of all of her highs and lows in dancing, and she will carry her experiences for a lifetime. 

But is it hard to say goodbye to an activity that she excelled in, and we thoroughly enjoyed watching her perform no matter the location of dancing (at the Ballet Studio, her home studio, or on stage)? Yes!!! The transition will be hard, but we are happy to support her throughout all the decisions that she will make throughout her lifetime. 

Now that the shock has worn off, and we see our spunky, smiley girl back enjoying her freedom, we are very proud of her decision to have her voice heard. She took her own time to analyze and come to her own conclusion. We are so happy she trusts and believes in her parents enough too, that she is mature enough to start the discussion, and carry it forward. It was not an easy road. Very proud. 

The future? Not sure. She is taking a much needed break in the calendar routine and enjoying her last Semester of Seventh Grade with just the expectation of academics. This is just what she needed. 

Ballet Changes.