Pardon my Attitude, it's a dance thing!

I miss waking up with sore muscles. I miss the cramp I got in my toes after taking off pointe shoes. I miss the way the dance studio sounded like a fresh bowl of rice krispies as everyone stretched and popped various body parts in the morning. I miss pushing my body to it's limits. I miss my ballet teachers unique sayings such as "keep your bird cage closed", "watch your ladybugs", and "don't spill your water bowls".

I miss auditioning and rehearsing for the semesterly dance concert and student choreography showcase. I miss choreographing with classmates then forgetting what we had just done. I miss making pretty lines and shapes with my body. I miss learning to write and speak french. I miss dance.

I miss the energy in my old improv class as everyone moved without thought. I miss closing my eyes and getting lost in the moment. I miss performing in House of Blue unannounced and doing contact improv out of the class room and across the entire dance building.

Dance brought me a lot of really great friends and memories. It is so exciting to see my friends go on to be performers for Busch Gardens, the circus, local companys, and even semi-pro football teams. I couldn't be more proud of everyone. Never stop dancing. It's not just what we do, it's who we are. It's what makes our wheels turn and our eyes light up. All the blood, sweat, tears, and pain are so worth it after a great performance.

We won't have these bodies forever. But while we do, lets put our talent to good use. Whatever your passion, go out and inspire others. Know that we can change the world. Know that every time you perform/paint/write/play/sing/etc. someone is inspired by you. Never give up on your dreams.  In the words of my former pointe teacher, Joanie, "life is not an adagio". Live in the now. This is our time! Make every move count. Y'all ready? 5-6-7-8 ¡ Baila!

~Tea

 

Happy Novemberrrrr

            I love the month of November. Perhaps I’m biased because this is my birth month, but I love it none-the-less.  

*Happy Birthday all my November friends, Scorpios and Sagittarians alike*

            Aside from the enormous amount of birthdays this month there is also Thanksgiving, Veterans Day, Hanukkah, Daylight Savings, and even El Dia De Los Muertos (a Mexican holiday in remembrance of friends and loved ones who have passed away). Black Friday isn’t an official holiday but I know tons of females who would beg to differ. Cyber Monday, although the newest of the pseudo holidays, is also becoming more popular as that affords people the chance to do their Black Friday shopping from their work desks on Monday morning.

            The weather is getting chilly. It’s a grand 38 degrees here in NoVa today. As a Florida girl with sunshine blood running through my veins, I’m not too crazy about this weather. But the snow will be a beautiful sight from my balcony in the coming months (as long as I don’t have to go out into it).

            Some of my other favorite things about this month and the seasons changing are:       

                  *Boots

                                   * Scarves 

                                    *Layers 

                                    *Hot chocolate 

                                   *Walking into warm buildings  

                                   *Birthdays 

                                   *The aura of thankfulness in the air 

                                   *Family

            Leave me a comment below and let me know some of your favorite things about the month of November, the fall season, and some of the things you are thankful for.

~Tea

Revenge

            A few days ago, while talking with my girlfriend, V, I asked her if I had any Scorpio traits. Let me explain. I am a Sagittarius who was born on Nov. 23^rd. That being said, the signs change over from Scorpio to Sagittarius on Nov. 22^nd so that would make me a “cusp” (person born within 5 days of the changeover). Cusp people allegedly have traits of both signs. Me being a November Sagittarius, some people don’t consider us “real Sagittarians”, which brings me to this conversation I had with my lady.

            After she thought for a second she replied. She told me that while I’m not moody like most Scorpios are, I am vengeful, sneaky, and can be conniving when I want to be. I thought about that for a minute. My first instinct was to be defensive and immediately say “No, I’m not!” but after some thought I realized that she was right.

            In my past, I have done some pretty shady things. I have done some not so nice things and some VERY not nice things to others. However, I always did them in my own sneaky way. I was never one to be outright mean to someone. Instead I would just get them where it hurt.

            I would learn their weakness and use that as my prey. It’s easy to get mad and just want to punch someone in the face. I learned many years ago that words can cut deeper than any physical blow (especially considering I’m fairly small). Having always been really good with my words, that is what I used.

            I could reduce a person to tears just from the vile things that would come out of my mouth. Not my proudest moments, of course, but I’m being open and honest here. As I have gotten older, I have learned to tame my tongue so to speak. I am aware of what my words can do to others and I don’t want to make people feel that way anymore.

            There really isn’t a need for me to try to seek out revenge on others that wrong me. I believe in karma and all my tongue lashings were doing were breeding me more negative karma. Now I like to fully rely on the power of silence. If I have nothing nice to say I will not speak; at all. When someone tries to tear you down to the lowest point possible and you just look at them and say nothing, that’s powerful. Being a southern girl I could throw a “Bless your heart” in there but I’d rather just keep all words to myself.

            Revenge is not a solution to a problem. All it does is prolong the issue and nothing can get resolved. Going tit-for-tat with someone becomes exhausting. Nobody wins until one party gives up and I’d rather not fuel any ones fire and just cut them off and keep it moving. I’m not perfect. I’m still working on this. But as my 24^th birthday quickly approaches this is certainly one thing that I want to focus on and I appreciate my girlfriends’ honesty with bringing it to my attention. What is everyone else working on in their lives?

~Tea

A Warm November Embrace

Drunken words danced across our lips

As our secret inner desires

Proudly became our outward expressions.

My hands slowly grazed the skin

Decorated with moles and the prettiest brown hue

That my corrected vision has ever seen.

Stepping towards you, our chests meet.

My cheek presses softly against yours

As I move to rest it on your shoulder

While inhaling your signature Unforgivable scent.

Warm, soft arms envelop me

As your chin rests aside my forehead.

I close my eyes and breathe.

In that moment, only we exist.

Our chests play tug-o-war with each

Rise and fall of our inhales and exhales.

My right hand moves from your back

And finds comfort resting alongside your neck.

Drawing my lips from your neck to your ear

I whisper “Happy 10 months, Baby. I love you.”

~Tea

Written 11/5/13

Dedicated to V.

Tat Tat tatted up?

As I was changing my gauges earlier I stopped and asked myself “do people look at me differently because of my gauges and tattoos”? I have a wrist tattoo, shoulder tattoos, and one on my lower calf. Those are the only majorly visible ones at least. I also used to have my lip pierced which I then traded for my size zero gauges.

I miss it sometimes but then I remember that I in corporate America and I believe that my boss would frown upon that. Being the youngest person, having gauges, visible tattoos, AND a lip ring would just be too much. I like being an individual but I think I have to draw a line at some point.

In my generation, tattoos and piercings are basically the norm. The generations before mine, however, have yet to catch up to this notion. Will body modifications such as tattoos, piercings, or stretched ear lobes ever be acceptable in corporate America? This is a question that I will just have to wait and see what the answer is in the years coming.

Do I regret any of my tattoos or piercings? I don’t believe in regrets. Everything that I have on my body is something that I wanted at one point in time. I only have one tattoo covered up but that is a topic for another day. But even that is something that I wanted at the time.

Do I think that they limit me in life sometimes? Absolutely. When I graduated from college and started looking for jobs I had to “cover up”. I had to put in my solid colored gauges in and make sure that my tattoos were covered, especially the one which adorns my shoulders. Ironically enough, that’s actually one of my favorite tattoos that I have.

I know that I get stares and sideways looks from people when I go out sometimes, and I’m okay with that. I love who I am and my body art is just an outward expression of who I am on the inside. Plus, it makes for great conversation starters with people around my age. I can’t tell you how many times someone has said “nice gauges” or “Oh you have ballet shoes on your ankle? Do you dance?” and that sparked a great conversation.

Moral to the story, love yourself for yourself. Everyone is different and not everybody will like the choices you make. People WILL judge you based on how you look on your outside long before they get to know who you are on the inside. There isn't anything anyone can do about that. As long as you are comfortable with whom you are, both on the inside and the outside, then it won’t matter. The people who DO matter, will get to know you for you. Those are the ones you want to keep around.

~Tea