So today was my last day of sophomore year (yay!!!) and it didn't really feel like any of my other last days of school. This is mainly because I only had to be there for one class period, but also because it came so fast. Usually the last few weeks drag out up until the last day of school but this week really snuck on me this year. That's not what this post is about though... You're probably wondering why this post is titled "Meet me at the corner?" and I will explain! My best friend, Sarah, lives just across Parkway and a block down from me so whenever we hang out we "meet at the corner" between our houses. Those words will always make me happy. But we don't say them very often anymore - NOT because we aren't friends, but because we can drive and even though it only takes two minutes to walk to the corner, we usually waste gas and pollute the atmosphere by driving. You grow up a lot during sophomore year, mainly because you or at least some of your friends can drive and can have jobs and it's all just a weird mixture of freedom and uncertainty. All of the things you couldn't wait to do when you turned sixteen are actually options and sometimes it scares me. For example, in the past two weeks I've been hired for two jobs (yep, two). I'm excited to make my own money and stuff but it's still so weird to me that I'm getting a paycheck with my name on it and that somebody trusts me to please their customers/ teach their students. As you grow up and discover who you are, you gain and lose a lot of friends. I'm really lucky to have Sarah, who has been my best friend since third grade and been through all of the awkwardness and confusion of adolescence with me. We aren't involved in the same programs at school so it's nice that we actually have things to talk about that the other person doesn't have any ties to or preconceived ideas of. Also, as my mother would say, Sarah has more boy experience than me, so she gives good advice on that kind of stuff (even when I don't want to hear it) It was today when we weren't in school that I started thinking about the good old corner. We were doing what we normally do: go to market street, come back to my house, bake and watch old Degrassi episodes (because the new one is horrible). I would love to do a post on why Sarah is such a great friend but 1) its not that simple and 2) if I could find adequate words to describe our relationship, the post would be at least a mile long. My point isn't that Sarah is great (we all already know that). My point IS that a year ago today we may have still been baking and watching Degrassi, but we would've met at the corner and begged my dad to drive us to market street and then he would have paid for whatever we decided to buy (today it was ingredients for slutty brownies). It's odd to think about how some things change and others stay the same. Even though we've developed relationships with other people, we're still best buddies (ok lame sorry) and I don't anticipate that that will ever change even as we grow up and open a Bookery or get married or whatever else we end up doing.
Hellllloooo ok for those of you who don't know, I decided not to do drill team again. Why, you ask, well keep reading this post....
My decision to quit Lariettes had nothing to do with the fact that a group of
girls made me feel left out. It had nothing to do with the early morning
practices and freezing walks from the parking lot. It had nothing to do with
hot and sweaty band practices. It had nothing to do with seniority or ugly
costumes. It just isn't the kind of dance I want to be doing. This is the
hardest decision I've ever had to make because there are a lot of things I love
about Lariettes. I love the fringe. I love football games. I love having the
locker room as a safe place. I love my directors and I love my team mates. But
for the dancer I want to be, drill team is just not the right place to learn
and grow. I want to be an artist, and on drill team everybody is told to be exactly
alike. I definitely grew tremendously as a dancer on JV, and was pushed to work
my tail off to prove myself. But now it’s time to hang up my hat and move on. I
went back and forth between quitting and trying out for officer about five
times spanning from November to February before I finally made up my mind. It's
just that when I see dances at competitions and conventions I always say,
"Wow I wish I could dance like that." and I realize that where I am
now won't get me there. I finally accepted that I can't just keep the things I
love about Lariettes, it's all or nothing. And I'm going to have to take
nothing if I plan on being the dancer I want to be. I would give anything
to put on the fringe and shake it with the drum line one last time. But in our
lives we have to make sacrifices and we can only have faith that we are making
the right decision.
I am one
of the few dancers that doesn't consider dance to be a sport. To me it is so much
more than scoring points. Dance is art and dancers are not only athletes,
but artists. Sure, you can channel emotions into a game of soccer or basketball, but
dance is different. Each piece, each step, has a meaning. Dances
tell stories, or at least they should. Dance is personal and it is emotionally
taxing. Through this year I’ve realized how wrong it is to compare one piece to
another.
The first time I thought about
quitting Lariettes and pursuing dance more seriously was actually before I even tried
out. It was at Showbiz competition and two of the best studios in the metroplex
(Next Step & Prodigy) were competing there. I felt something real
when I watched them dance, and I knew that the dancers also felt something and
were pouring their heart into the dance. I wanted to be able to dance like
that. I seriously considered moving to Next Step even though it is half an hour
away. However I decided to try Lariettes because that's where my all my friends
were.
All
throughout football season I worked my "derrière"(French for butt) off. Besides being without a bus buddy, football
season was incredibly fun. Some of my best memories definitely took place during
that time. Then in November I attended Dance Revolution (the dance convention,
not the video game). It is an amazing
organization that I hope to become more involved in in years to come. The
dancing I did that weekend was so different from the drill team field dances I’d
been doing for the past couple of months and it felt amazing. I realized that I
could be dancing like that every day and decided to start asking God if
Lariettes was really the place for me. My parents were supportive of me not
coming back to Lariettes as a junior but at the time we didn’t know what else
there was for me to do. You can’t just walk into a new studio and join their
company right away and since I was already committed to Lariettes and my studio
company there was not time to go try out different places so eventually I
shifted back to being content with drill team.
When we started
our money themed production in Lariettes, I knew again that I wanted to quit.
Being part of a group that glorifies worldly things like that was and still is
unnerving to me. I remember being super angry after learning that choreography
and being given a fluff part. I drove myself to the grocery store and bought
three boxes of toaster strudels because that’s what I do when I’m ticked off. I
declared once again to my parents that I was quitting, once and for all. Then a
week later I melted back into Lariettes and this time was fully committed to
becoming an officer so I didn't have to do fluff.
The week of my
first blog post back was when I made the final decision to quit. Although it wasn't really me, but God. I was in the studio working on my solo and I just
could not seem to do anything right. I couldn't spot my turns. I couldn't balance in a double pirouette. My turnout was non-existent. It was basically
God saying, “Look, you developed these bad habits on drill team and it isn't where I want you to be. I have bigger plans for you.” I prayed and prayed, talked about quitting with my parents, changed the concept of my solo and two days later when I worked on it in the
studio again I was on fire. The moves were flowing naturally through me and I
felt His presence in the room with me. I knew that it was His way of letting me
know I was making the right decision.
The day after my
last drill team competition I went to my dance teacher’s wedding. She was part
of Dance Revolution’s professional company, “Ingredients” and the company
danced in her wedding. Watching them dance, I realized what was missing in
my dance – purpose. They were dancing for the Lord and you could see it in
their bodies and faces. I’d been doing high kicks and aimless reaches for
months, never knowing what I was missing. It was then that I knew once and for all that God was
pushing me in the right direction.
Our Creator
created this beautiful thing we call dance. He gave us music, He gave us agile
bodies and amazing choreographers. I want to use my dance to glorify Him and
Him alone.
So that my
friends, is why I quit drill team. I will definitely still be an active
supporter of the organization, but I’ll be cheering the Lariettes on from the
student section next year. I had two goals going in to Lariettes. 1) Be in the front line for a field kick dance & 2) Make all of the contest dances. I accomplished both of those goals so I'm not too disappointed with my time on drill team. I made lots of great friends and great memories in
my year on Lariettes and plan on doing a highlight post later, but as we approach banquet - my last hoorah with the team, this has all been on my mind so I felt like
sharing. I am excited about what my future as a dancer holds and I don't
want to spill just yet, but I trust that it's where the Lord wants me to be.
I'm preparing for the long road ahead and praying for the strength to fight any
battle that arises during this journey.
In His Name,
Meredith
questions, comments or prayer requests? Feel free to email me: meredithmunro@icloud.com
**PRAYER REQUESTS**
The 8th & 9th grade confirmants at St. Ann, especially the beautiful young woman I am sponsoring, Kassidy.
This is one of my favorite Ingredients dances. It's cool too because I can connect with crying out to the Lord and hearing His voice guide you.
Well friends, we're approaching the busy season. Banquets, recital, tryouts - oh my! For me, there are a lot of "lasts" and I'm only a sophomore. A lost of it has to to with growing up, which is both scary and exciting. In this past year alone my responsibilities have doubled, driving, choreographing solos, and as of yesterday, becoming an EMHC (Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion). Being able to do all of those things and be trusted to carry them out properly is awesome but I think we all miss the days where we had no responsibilities. When we're little kids we don't have any responsibilities, we don't have high expectations from anybody nor ourselves, we haven't been exposed to the struggles this earth holds for us. So in the wake of some ridiculous drama/ stress at my dance competition this past weekend, it was great to be able to hang out with a four year old girl to take my mind off of all of the worldly troubles.
This particular four year old is one of the dance teacher's daughters, Tatum. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of kids but I cannot get enough of Tatum. She's got an infectious spirit, one of those laughs that instantly makes you happy. At the beginning of the weekend I was deemed her friend and by the last day, she told me that she loves me. Aside from funny selfies and vines, the most important thing I got from my weekend with Tatum is a reminder on how we're all made in God's image. Four year olds don't have tunnel vision like we teens do, if you come talk to to Tatum, she declares you her friend. She's accepting, we all should be too. The second thing I learned is that we all need to laugh more. Olivia and I rode back to the hotel with Miss Jessica (Tatum's mom) on Saturday night, Tatum in tow. Most fun car ride of my life. Tatum would say something random then start cracking up, causing us all to do the same. She told us all about her fish named Bunny and her three brothers (Barrett, Landon and Daddy. Landon is her favorite.) Eventually she ran out of real words and started making up her own which was even funnier. When we got back to the hotel and had to split up in the elevator, Tatum was devastated.
As I said, the weekend was full of ridiculous drama and stress, which all dance competitions are, but hanging around with my favorite four year old took my mind off of all of that stuff and definitely made it a trip to remember.
So, that was my short, sweet and happy post to make up for my previous one. I hope you have a great day/night. Here are some pictures and vines taken with Tatum this weekend, enjoy...
Stretching with the big girls!
Selfiie ft. Olivia
Sisters???
She did not enjoy being onstage for the award ceremony...
Dancin'
breakfast "it's too early to be awake!"
pic ft. her new pink elephant
And of course, here're the vine that the title of this post came from...
"He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."
Matthew 18:2-6
In His Name,
Meredith
questions, comments or prayer requests? Feel free to email me: meredithmunro@icloud.com
**PRAYER REQUESTS**
Tatum and all of the other little kids with such pure hearts, that they stay pure.
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