Stuck For Ideas… |Dreams That Glitter

You’ve probably noticed my blogging has gone a little downhill with increasingly fewer posts recently. I don’t really know what to write about at the moment but I really wanted to post something anyway, so this isn’t really a post about anything in particular but just what’s on my mind because I want to write…

My life has pretty much revolved around dancing lately which I like, which you’ve probably picked up on given my last few posts. I’ve been trying to figure out exactly where I want to go with dancing and I definitely want to persue it as a career somehow no matter how difficult it is and I’m very aware of the competition there is. I got Kimberley Walsh’s autobiography ‘A Whole Lot Of History’ yesterday (a signed addition too a;djkgnfdj – Buy It Here) yesterday and I’ve been reading it today in between doing art homework. I’ve realised that out of my favourite biographies that I’ve read – this one, Cheryl Cole’s and Dannii Minogue’s – they’re all performers and spent their entire childhood performing at every opportunity they had.

I love this lady a lot!

I was thinking about this earlier and all of my idols are in the performing industry and that’s what I want to do. It makes me sad that somewhere along the line I lost confidence in it all somehow, maybe that just came with growing up from a child to a teenager, I don’t know. When I was little I started ballet and used to have no issue performing in front of the class or whatever, the shows were always my favourite and whenever we had family dinners or gatherings I’d choreograph a little show and perform in front of everyone, begging my dad to get the video camera out. I was a right little poser and would take any opportunity to be in front of a camera or showing my family what I could do. One time I remember going shopping with my dad and I made him sit and watch me go through my ballet exam dance as I performed it outside Next. What happened? I’m much more cautious now and I don’t know when that changed but I wish I still had all the confidence I did when I was that young age, and I wish I hadn’t lost interest for a few years in between (maybe that’s when the confidence slipped?)

These days whenever I’m stuck for a bit of motivation or inspiration I just go to someone’s blog, tumblr, twitter or even we heart it or instagram, and just scroll through pictures of dancers or performers and I’m suddenly caught up in it all again.

I think that’s it for now, I know this was a bit of a miss matched post and repeating some of what I’ve posted already but I just wanted to blog something! Hope everyone’s had a great weekend! X

PS. Congratulations to Heather Morris who gave to a beautiful baby boy Elijah<3

How gorgeous?<3

To Be A Dancer|Dreams That Glitter

So, I’ve always loved dancing, I’ve done ballet for ten years now, that’s a long time, the majority of my life, in fact. Although I’ve never quit or given up with it, it’s always been in phases – phases where I drift in and out of having my entire life taken over by dancing. Up until late last year, when I decided I wanted to be a dancer. I didn’t admit it to anyone for a while, but then I thought, well if I don’t, how am I going to do it? I can’t work my way there by myself. This year I’ve really focussed in ballet classes (I’ve been doing Grade 8, Inter foundation and started pointe work last September – with a few problems along the way) and I think I have improved quite a lot, because I’m putting more into it.

For about three years prior to that, although I rarely miss a class, I’ve just been there, I haven’t really been there. I’ve just got my way through the class, without taking everything in. I’ve found that I don’t actually have that bad a dance movement memory and actually I can remember syllabus. The whole pointe thing was a bit of a disaster at first, but I’m getting there now, slowly but surely. I still have a lot of work to do on that side of things.

Now I think I know I’m never going to be a prima ballerina, but why not give it my all anyway? Why not give it my best shot and see what happens, with lots of extra stretching and strengthening between classes there could be a big improvement. Realistically I know that to be a dancer I need to be fitter and probably lose weight too to where I’m at now, but I can do that. I’m willing to work for this because I love it, and I know it takes a lot of input to get anything out, and I know it’s a competitive industry and I know it’s not going to be a piece of cake to get where I want to be, but this is my dream, and why shouldn’t I have a good go at it?

I had a careers appointment at school on the last week, and I’m still decided if it was helpful or not, which I guess it wasn’t too much. The lady was lovely but she didn’t really seem to know much about what I was talking about, I’m probably better talking to my dance teacher at school because she’ll know what she’s talking about more. I’ll go see her when we go back. She told me a lot of what I already knew beforehand, like after GCSE’s I basically have three options: college/specialist College, sixth form or an apprenticeship (which isn’t really appropriate for this). What I’ll do is apply for sixth form at my school (here I’d do Dance A level and a dance leaders qualification, and Fashion and Clothing BTEC course which is the only other thing I really want to do there, which is good for a back-up plan if the whole dancer thing doesn’t work out for whatever reason). I looked through all the leaflets I got from Move It back in March, and put aside all the ones that might be of use to me. Much as I’d love to go to a ballet school I’m not sure on my chances about getting in are, I’m short, I don’t have the body (now at least) and I don’t have the best technique in the world, I’m just not sure I have what it takes to be a ballerina, much as I’d love to, and I am prepared to work on that and I will. I think I might be better suited to go more in the direction of contemporary dance, but then in most dance schools both of these styles are compulsory classes, and many schools train their dancers in a variety of different styles.

When I go to Move It next year, I’ll go around and ask about the different colleges and what’s available to me post 16 and post 18 and see what the better route to take is. I have to consider which is going to need more qualifications to get into, but also all the different courses on offer, funding and transport/accommodation. It’s a lot to think about so it’s probably a good thing that I’m starting to think about it now, so I have a while to sort everything out, rather than leaving it all last minute…

So yeah, now I’ve put all that out here, I feel like I have all the more reason to work as hard as I can in dance and try and get into a dance school next year maybe. Or stay on and do A level dance and do as well as I can in that, whatever it is I decide to pick in the end. Either way, I’ll update this blog with everything. If anyone has any advice or experience they’d like to share please do comment and get in touch! 🙂

Why are people so afraid?|Dreams That Glitter

 So it’s past midnight and this might not make much sense when I read it back tomorrow or whenever, but I’m going to go ahead and post it anyway. It’s just something that’s been on my mind for a while now. I don’t even know if anyone still reads this blog but hey ho.

Why are people so afraid of what they want? Afraid to go out and get something they’ve been wanting for such a long time, afraid to chase their dreams? Even if they have everything they need to achieve what they want, and are perfectly capable of it, they let the opportunity pass by because they’re afraid. Of what though? 

Self doubt is a big reason. I’m included in this, I’ll admit. I don’t always have faith in myself and I know it’s silly because I tell other people they should believe in themselves more all the time, yet I can’t do that myself. Not all the time anyway. Why is that so difficult? Who knows? I think pressure from family or friends comes into it sometimes, but mainly pressure from society. Pressure to succeed. Pressure to do well from start to finish, but sometimes it’s just not as easy as that.

It takes time to get what you want, and it takes a lot of hard work. But in the right mind set and making sure you’re well equipped for what it is that you want to achieve whether it be anything from loosing weight to getting the career you want, anyone can do whatever they want with their lives. 

There’s too much pressure – on teenagers in particular – to be ‘perfect’. Have a perfect body, a flawless complexion or be in line with the latest fashion trends, but is that what’s really important in life? Are people that are ‘lucky’ enough to have all those things really, truly happy? Probably not. Because it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

If you have a goal with what you want in life, then go and chase it, and do anything and everything you can to make it happen. Because with the right positivity you can do it. You can get there. You don’t have to be like your mum, your dad, anyone else in your family, or your friend. You don’t have to be like your idol, or any celebrity you see on tv or in magazines. You are you. You are your own person. And if there’s something you want to do with your life, then you deserve it. A friend once told me ‘If people aren’t laughing at your dreams, then they aren’t big enough.’ 

❤

Pointe at Last|Dreams That Glitter

Pointe at last…. I feel like I’ve been waiting forever to start pointe work, to get my first pair of pointe shoes, in reality it’s probably been a couple of years. That’s still a long time in my mind… anyway, I got my first pair of pointe shoes yesterday! I’m so happy to finally have them, you’ve absolutely no idea! When I went to get them fitted I just kept panicking that something was going to go wrong, that I wouldn’t be able to get them for some reason – that they wouldn’t have a shoe wide enough for my feet (I was assured by the lady who gave me the shoes not to worry about that, English girls have wide feet, apparently), or they just wouldn’t have any in stock, or the shop would be closed and only open on a day that I couldn’t go… you get the idea. It just seemed too good to be true. But it happened so quick, I was out with them in about ten minutes! I put them on as soon as I got home and of course sneakily had a little go… they were coming on and off my feet all day really.

The only downside now, is that where I do ballet, classes don’t start up again until the 8th August (next Saturday) and I have classes on a Friday (I’m doing Inter Foundation, Beginner’s pointe, and then RAD Grade 8, back to back). But I have to check the shoes with my teacher before I darn them and sew on the ribbons… so that first lesson will just be assessing the shoes I guess…. So basically I have to wait a month to start pointe properly. In fact, 4 weeks from now, I will probably be sitting blogging about it, a little later than it is now.

 

My Freed Studio II pointe shoes, 4EE 🙂

 

Also…

 

 

I sort of feel like my blog is losing it’s original purpose… and I don’t want to do that. It’s becoming more fashion and beauty orientated, which is fine, but my blog is still called ‘If You Believe You Can Achieve’ and it will always be. The original purpose was to share hopes and dreams and opinions, and keep track of achievements and such I guess, so please don’t forget that, I’m trying not to let myself forget that. And NEVER let go of your dreams. Ever.

 

Thanks for reading 🙂