Change

     Change. It's kind of a funny thing. We don't really think about how things change unless we sit down and take a look at how things used to be. Sometimes we don't even know how it happens. 

     Today at work, a coworker of mine and I started talking about how I danced in high school. I told her that I used to be this extremely unconfident, annoying girl. She said to me, "Wow, I can't imagine that. You're just so outgoing I wouldn't have ever thought you weren't confident." But I was. And one man changed that, and he may never know it. Paul Winkelman, a well known choreographer in the dance world, came to Alaska to lead tryouts with my coach. He said something to us that I will never forget. "If you don't have confidence in yourself, then no one will." He told us to have self confidence, but not be arrogant. To walk with attitude and with sass. That's how you capture peoples' attention. Not by hanging your head and sulking, but by lifting your head high and knowing that you are worth it. After that, I changed.

     Not only did my dancing get better, but I started to make more friends and more guys seemed to like me than they had before. It was like everything had started over. Nothing around me had changed. I still lived in Alaska. I still went to the same school. I still had the same dance team. And I still had the same friends. I was the one who had changed and it felt amazing. And I've continued to change through the experiences I've had, the loved ones I've gained and lost, and I start to wonder. What if the me now was the me in high school. Would I have had different friends? Different grades? Different experiences? But it doesn't matter. Because everything that happens in our lives, makes us who we are today. Every day changes us. So why look behind on what happened and why it shouldn't have? Why not lift that head high, look ahead, and look how far we've come already. We all still have so much changing to do. It's never too late to start.