As we struggle through difficult times, it’s hard to see where we are going or what we really want to do.  When I find myself in this place, I ask myself, What do I think about when I’m day dreaming?  Where am I the happiest and who am I with?  It’s really about your passion for what you love to do.  So many of us think we can’t live out our passions.  I say why?

When I was born my mother said I came out of the womb dancing.   I always loved the dance.  My mother introduced me to classical music and when she played it, I would choreograph my own dances at the age of 5. She made me my own netted ballerina skirt.  I felt like a dancer when I had it on.   Dance lessons were too expensive back then.  Although we lived comfortably it wasn’t an expense we could afford.  When my parents divorced when I was 9, dance lessons were for sure out of the question.  But I didn’t give up.  I listened to music and danced anywhere I could.  We lived in a small 650 sq. ft. apt. but I still found room to dance.  I would watch the ballets on channel 8 and read and look at pictures.  Dancing and books were my escape from reality.     I practiced all the time.  I could do all those beautiful moves but had no idea how to name them.  French words were not a part of my vocabulary. Oh, I knew the basics, Plié,  Jete, releve, arabesque and the list goes on.  But I knew how to move and flow with the music.

When I was 16 and driving, I took my first ballet class.  I saved my hard-earned money from babysitting and my first job.  It was one of the most special days of my life, when I  walked into that studio with my leotard and ballet shoes on,  and looked at myself in that great big mirror.  Wow!!  I had made it!  Of course I started in the beginning class because I had never had any formal training, but I was quickly moved up as my years of practice on my own brought me in as a 3rd year student.  I was on point in no time and dancing like the ballerina’s I had seen on T.V. years ago.

Did I go on and become a prima ballerina?  NO.  But my passion for what I loved to do which was dance brought me to that euphoric place that I had only dreamed of.  I still dance today in the privacy of my home.  It is such a freeing feeling to just let go and let your body move with the music.  It brings me to my happy place:)

So what are you passionate about?  What makes you happy and brings a smile to your face?  That’s the direction you need to be moving in.  Read about it, learn, and do it!!!!  Nothing is stopping you but you.

As always, keep hiking to the top!

Kimberly Rae