I know people think I'm crazy. Taking off work to go take a class and see a few people. But it's totally worth it. Even when you only make the last half hour of a class.
After having my car worked on (thanks dad) I showed up 90 minutes late to what appeared to be a very vigorous class after getting stuck on 287 due to an accident that everyone had to slow down and look at, as well as getting locked outside of Brown because Campus Safety sucks.
Normally it would be extremely rude to just interrupt a class this late, but because of the setting and the people, showing up late is better than not showing up at all.
I'm sure some people think I'm crazy. I drove an hour and a half just to take 30 minutes of a class. I didn't really care, I jumped right in and got as much as I could out of that small amount of time. It's like crack. You can't get enough. Everyone is sweaty, disgusting, and having the absolute time of their lives...all while cheering everyone else on.
Instead of a "how dare you walk in so late reaction" I got instead the "omg you made it, what the heck took you so long" reaction. And that is why I enjoy it so much. It's the passion inside everyone and the love for the collective group that makes classes like these worth the extra time.
I can dance anywhere and be happy, but the problem at home is that I don't know anyone (my age at least) that has as much joy and love for something as I do for dance and taking class. And that's why people don't get my strong ambition to continue with it and do what I do. Not only that...most people around here don't even know how I perform, create, choreograph etc. If you're in Woodbridge, you tend to "stay" in Woodbridge, not only physically, but oh so mentally. Small-town state of mind in a not so small township. The notion of dance around here is revolved around recitals, high-school theater choreography and whatever is on sytycd along with commercialized movement. They don't know what else is out there so the excitement that I recieve from other forms of dance and taking classes like those at Muhlenberg aren't necessarily understood or appreciated. It's kind of isolating in one way, frustrating in another, and yet drives me to try and expand people's perceptions of the huge world of physical art.
Muhlenberg is a bubble. Was a bubble. But there are bubbles everywhere. Woodbridge is a bubble...one that I left for four years and then came back to, just to find the same people, with the same issues, the same relationships, and the same mentality. A mentality that I used to have (didn't think I had...but I definitely had) but don't anymore. My family had a leg up on that one, spending a large portion of their lives growing up and living in Brooklyn, but of course I didn't want to believe them...I had to fit in here growing up. Going away to college opened my eyes to what my family already knew, and in a way it kind of sucks. But in another way it pushes me to go beyond this place, do bigger and better things than those who are "stuck" here. I have my family to thank for that as well as my own dreams of becoming someone different.
So I don't connect with as many people around here anymore. So what? I didn't come back home in order to revert to my high school days and times, but rather to get my life in order, plan things out, and prepare to start my own life.
As I've said before, it's not going to be easy, but at least I'm ready to face the challenge.
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