Free and Easy - Life is what you make it

With the initial leap into the exciting world of dancing fever achieved, I was now seen as one of the regulars. Somewhat competent at following the basic moves of most of the regular dances, nights were spent practicing at lessons and social dances. And for special events whole days and even weekends were given to delving into this vast new world. Mambo city was one of the most exhilarating experiences with world professionals teaching and performing in London over 3 days. By the end of the weekend so many lessons had been ticked off the list that I literally fell asleep on the sidelines of a class while attempting to record the event for other members of dancing fever who were at that class. Needless to say I didn’t do very well at catching their dance moves but I did an incredible job of showing my feet. I highly recommend the MamboCity dance Congress if you are interested I a dance event. 

The experience was intense fun and made all the more special with it being the moment myself and my partner finally realised how we each felt about one another. Burning the candle at both ends was invigorating but it was only a matter of time before something gave. 

I discovered that my passion as a designer and all my expectations surrounding the career were suddenly lacking. I had become complacent and content in where I was, comfortably receiving a pay check each month in order to finance my new passion. My need to progress and achieve something new was finally being fulfilled but not by my newly blooming career. What many university lectures won’t tell you is that out in the real industry, no matter how many qualifications you have and how many questions you ask in return to your potential employers after graduation, is that employers do exactly what you do at an interview. They too are on best behaviour and present themselves in their best light and everyone has the best intentions at the start. However time usually gets in the way along with the reality of affordability and skill levels. So my advice to anyone looking to go into any job you wish to progress in, is to take your learning into your own hands and find a balance between education for yourself and other passions you may have. My mistake was to place all my eggs in one basket at any one time.  This having been said; had I not delved into the dance community so completely I would never have gained the confidence I needed in myself to take a much needed view on my lifestyle. It gave me the push to accept that I needed to change an aspect of my routine. So I made a list. The motions were in place to move house, find a new job and to start experiencing new things more regularly. To no longer be a timid quiet person in the corner of the room but to make decisions, have opinions and own them.  This wasn’t a flash in the pan decision and nor did it happen over night. It was a series of conflicting emotions and events that led to achieving my aims. (Spoiler alert - I did manage to reach all of those goals I set) People around me in work soon noticed I was unhappy because I have never been very good at hiding my emotions. No matter how hard I try ( and the more I try the more adverse of an effect it has on my mood ) and I was really trying at this point. I hadn’t fully figured out my plan of action nor had I managed to land a job to move across to. All of this bundled itself up as a bout of anxiety which took a while to wade through. Eventually after in depth discussions about all my concerns and worries with the dance family I had acquired and my biological family, there was a choice to be made and even more confusion. Do I or don’t I take the leap of quitting my job and putting all my efforts into getting back on track with my personal goals or do I continue to stay where I was no longer happy or inspired ( no discredit to the company - it was just my time to fly the nest ). The push over the edge came all at once when I had a chat with my boss about how I felt and after then with my partner about my options. An opportunity had arose for me that I was not going to let go of. I decided it was already past the point where I should have done so but I felt the relief wash over me as I handed my notice in and embarked on a line of interviews with new companies.  Exciting adventures were ahead and all full of new challenges and encouragement!