Article by Wendy McCance
I am reading Play On, by Mick Fleetwood. I am only a few chapters in, but love the book. I seem to be drawn to books that demonstrate the power of persistence and going after the things you love in life. There is something so exciting about the idea of the person who didn’t take the traditional path and instead trusted their gut. In Play On, Mick Fleetwood talks about having dyslexia and how he knew that for him, school was not a path he would continue on. Instead he took the creative path. He loved drumming. It was a natural choice. Without formal education on how to play the drums, he became one of the most iconic drummers around today. Thank goodness he chose to go after what he loved.
My oldest daughter is heading down a similar path and watching her as amazing things unfold has been incredible. My daughter always struggled in school. She has ADD and school was a frustrating place for her. She tried hard and got assistance from the school she attended, but school was just never a good fit for her.
When my daughter graduated from high school, she gave school one more chance. She took a few classes each semester for one year at the local community college. She dreaded class. She enjoyed meeting other students, getting to know some of her teachers and having some thought-provoking discussions. In one class, there were always discussions about society which she found fascinating. If the whole class was just discussion and debate, she would have been thrilled. It was the reading, the assignments and the tests that overwhelmed her. She struggled tremendously, gave it an honest effort and finally called it quits.
My daughter has always been creative. She has designed and sold jewelry, learned how to sew so she could create clothing and was always doing craft projects growing up. Right out of high school, she started taking dance classes. She was always interested in dance and the dance community fascinated her. By the time her back was against the wall and she had to make some decisions on what to do with her future, she decided to do what she loved. She decided to become a dancer.
My daughter has always been a natural at dance. I remember when she was young, she would do the latest dance and it was mesmerizing watching her. She just made the moves look easy and fluid. She had grace and good form and an ease about what she was doing.
So, that first year in college, she took a couple of dance classes just to break up the monotony of the core courses she chose. She was excited to dance as it was always something she wanted to do.
It took one class in dance for her to announce that she wanted to become a dancer. It made sense. She could do what she did best, be creative. She was thrilled at the thought of doing what she loved and was naturally good at. The spark of excitement seen when she spoke of dancing was contagious. You couldn’t help but root her on. She threw herself into dance with determination and the passion of someone who knew big things were ahead for her.
My daughter’s second year out of high school began with 7 different dance classes each week. Some days she was taking multiple classes. College was left behind and my daughter concentrated solely on dance. She found workshops taught by dancers who were touring with Beyonce’, Usher and Justin Timberlake. She continued to stun us all with what she was accomplishing.
Recently, the owner of one of the dance studio’s she goes to (she attends two separate studios) asked her if she was interested in touring with a company. There has been a representative who stopped by the studio who has been watching the dancers. Now she’s getting a passport, head shots and video clips of her work so that she is ready when she is offered an opportunity to tour.
Two years ago, my daughter went through a lot of turmoil. There was major doubts when it came to pursuing dance. She thought she was too old to just be starting out. She had no idea how to get into the right studio or what she might need to know to pursue dance as a career. She was scared to mention her dreams to others for fear that they would look down on her. She figured they would think she was frivolous, unmotivated and had her head in the clouds.
In the last two years, she has learned strength, determination and has lost her fear of what others think. She understands this is her dream and if someone doesn’t approve, it’s their problem not hers. She is the one who will be living with her choices not others.
From where I sit, I am having a blast. I have a front row seat to watch my daughter follow her dreams and see them become a reality. The positive energy and confidence that surrounds her each day and the happiness she emanates is pure magic to watch. I truly believe dreams come true no matter what the odds as long as you want the dream badly enough.
Wendy McCance
To contact Wendy McCance about a writing or social media assignment, interview or speaking engagement, please email her at: [email protected]
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