My people – you people – rock.

My dream is… well… some might say it’s a childish dream. After all, almost every little girl wants to be a ballerina when she grows up, at some point in her life. And at twenty-three years old… well, isn’t it about time I grow up and get over those childish dreams?

But other people, especially you people, listen to my dream and tell me, that’s an awesome dream. That I should do it. That I have to do it.

And that means so much.

Your supportive comments both here and on Facebook, your tweets, and those of you who have taking the time to actually talk to me about it… that means the world to me. To have you say, you can do it. To hear the certainty in your voice when you tell me, you are a ballerina, or, you will be – I know it. The feeling that I get when those of you who have never met me in person, or are just meeting me for the first time, say, Of course. You have the legs, the body, the physique of a dancer. You look like a dancer.

Some of you – Sharon, Brianne, Richard, Mrs. Elder, my family – have seen me perform time and time again. You’ve always known I dreamed of this. You’ve always believed that I could… no, that I would someday.

Others of you – Wendee, Bron, Yvo, Davina, Fabeku, Steph – you’ve never seen me perform. Perhaps you’ve seen photos, and maybe someday I will have the honor of being able to dance for you. But even so, you can see how passionate I am about this dream of mine, and your support amazes me. Even now, it’s still incredible to me that all these people from around the world whom I’ve never met and perhaps never will (although I certainly hope to!) believe in me and fully support my dream.

And then there are those of you who I’ve only recently just met in person. Shauna, who pulled me aside and asked me to tell her about my dream this weekend. Who told me, “You should do it,” and genuinely believes that I can, and will. I was on top of the world, after talking to you. Jen, Andrea, Cathy, Robin… those of you who opened you ears and were so willing to listen to me go on about this dream of mine. And you only just met me. You people are incredible.

And, of course, Son. My amazing boyfriend. You pushed me to go to classes. You know how much I love good dance – so much that it brings me to tears at times. You show me dance-related things whenever you come across them. You dance with me in the middle of the living room. And when I’m in tears when I realize I might not have the money to pay for ballet classes? It’s okay, baby. I’ll help you. Don’t cry. I can help you pay for classes, just ask me. Even though you would rather I focus on our dreams, on those things we’ve worked so hard on and that we both want so badly… you’re still willing to support this dream of mine. Even though you’ve never truly seen me dance. But you support me, because I want it. Because it makes me happy. Because you love me.

I never imagined people would be so supportive of this silly dream of mine. Never thought so many people would want me to succeed. Never realized that you – my friends, my family, even those of you I’ve never met in person – would so genuinely believe in me.

Thank you. So much. You are all proof that there really is so much love in the world.

****

It was past 2am when I went to bed last night. I got home late from this weekend’s International Food Blogger Conference in Seattle (which was amazing), and was fast asleep not long after arriving at home.

The old me would have said, I’m exhausted. I can’t get up at 9am for ballet. I need my sleep… I can just dance the next day…

Nuh uh. Not an option.

You see, this week, I’m upping the ante. Last week it was one ballet class a day, nothing more. This week, I’m adding another class – Monday and Wednesday it’s power yoga in the evening, Tuesday and Thursday I’ll be taking a cycling class at my gym with Son. The yoga helps my strength, balance, flexibility, and stamina – all things I need very much. And the cycling will also be a huge help for my leg strength and stamina. So that means morning ballet classes, now.

I need this.

And oooh baby, it feels so good.

I took two classes today. I haven’t done this in six years. And I feel better than I have in a long, long time.

I’m starting to see the every-day ballet classes pay off. Today in class, I was doing double pirouettes on the right side. Easily. That’s been almost unheard of, for years. And triples on the left. Even better, I got through the entire class – including jumps – just fine.

Have you ever pushed yourself that your lungs were burning, and your teeth hurt? Yes. That was me today, pushing myself to get through all the jumps. Grande allegro. I did it. Better than ever.

****

As for yoga… today’s class was my third class. Ever.

The first half hour is always a struggle. I have no upper body strength. At all. Before I’ve warmed up, downward-facing dog really isn’t my friend. And the whole yoga breathing thing… yeah, really haven’t gotten a hang of that yet.

After I’ve warmed up, though… it feels so good. I had sweat running down my nose today – okay, that was a little weird, but that just goes to show how hard I was working in class – and I was slipping and sliding all over my yoga mat from the sweat. Yeah, need to do something about that. But working that hard, pushing myself so much… it’s a good feeling, now. I don’t have to force myself; it isn’t an unpleasant struggle.

This yoga teacher is incredibly understanding, supportive… and at the same time, knows when to push me. And he can see that even though I have no idea what any of the yoga positions are called, I know how to use my body – he knew right off that I’m a dancer. So he doesn’t hold back, with me. He pushes me as far as I can go. And then he pushes me further.

Of course, my muscles want to scream when he pushes me into a stretch further than they want to go. My arms feel like jelly now, from all the weight-bearing exercises that use the upper-body strength that I don’t have. And my hips? They’ve always been tight. Always. But today’s class was all about stretching the hips – which hurt like hell but, in the long run, is going to be a very, very good thing.

Me and yoga? I never would have thought it. After all, I hated yoga the first few times I had to do it, at ballet workshops over the years.

But I love it. Right now, it’s exactly what I need.

And right now, that’s what matters most. I have to do what I need to do in order to get where I want to be.