D-Dancing (and Dips!)

Ever since I was little I have had a love for dance of all forms...not to say that I was good at them!  My little sister and I used to embarrass the heck out of our older brothers by dancing in front of restaurant juke boxes when we were young (I cannot imagine how bad it was, but it was probably adorable to unrelated observers).

I used to take ballet and tap, and for some reason stopped (I really wish now that I had kept with it).  In high school I was in show choir and school musicals and got much better at real dancing (that does not mean that any displays put on in bowling alleys, school dances, or clubs was anything short of hilarious in my lack of technique).  I just loved to be dancing:  around my bedroom, down the hallways, pretty much anywhere I had a song in my head.  Even today I jam out when I am cooking, cleaning, and even around the lab I work in!

In college I was introduced to the wonderful, world of swing dancing!  I instantly fell in love, and was pretty decent at following.  And let me tell you, having someone lead helps you look a LOT better than you actually are.

I fell in love with partner dancing (and the dips...did I mention that I love dips?).

From my first ever Lindy Bomb!

Thanks to the many amazing people I knew/met/know through swing dancing I easily found a place where I belonged...

A place where there were other "weird" people knew the Time Warp!,

Where I could be me in front of strangers!  (At my first exchange in Chicago.),

Where I grew confident enough to dance solo in front of friends...

...and confident enough to compete for the first time,

Where you meet fun people (tall people swing-dancing!),

Where you remember it is ok to act like children and live in the moment,

Where you feel like a movie star, when someone snaps a picture of an awesome moment,

Where a good dance can make you feel like you are the only two people in the room,

and where you fall in love.

Without swing dancing I would have a lot less friends, a lot less fun, a lot less confidence, and probably would have never married the love of my life.  Dancing has done so much for me throughout my life but mostly has significantly shaped my recent past, present, and future.  Without dancing I would not be me!

P.S. Did I mention I love dips?!

What about you?  What is one hobby that has significantly shaped you?  Do you enjoy dancing?