32 Things / 04

32 Things is a series of fun facts about me 

as I look forward to celebrating my 32nd birthday on September. 

DANCING IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I CAN DO!

I first learned how to dance in front of an audience when my mama told us to attend dance ministry meetings in our church. Perhaps, that's her way of taking our minds from thinking about our papa, who passed away that year. I was 8 years old and very shy - a shadow of my two older sisters. My eldest sister was a graceful teenager while my other sister can dance albeit her awkward moves. She's tall and lanky so I know she didn't look that awesome, haha. Initially, I just wanted to watch them and sulk in my non-appearing self-esteem. There's this girl named Ging-Ging, who's the same age as me and so good already! Our mentor, Ate Mae, talked to me. I remembered that she even included me in her closing prayer on our first day of meeting. The next meeting, she brought in tambourines! I was excited to use it. I have always admired the tambourine dancers in our church. They looked like angels clad in white silk dresses with colorful ribbons attached to their tambourines. I held one and tried my best to follow the steps. When I saw the reassuring nod of Ate Mae, I felt the rush of confidence ran through the veins of my body. Ging-Ging and I were the youngest members of the dance ministry and were always in front, as if leading the group. I always looked forward to our Saturday rehearsals for our Sunday service. At a young age, dancing for the glory of God was my greatest achievement.

Things changed in our family when we moved in to where my maternal grandmother lived. I was turning 11 and was an adjusting tweener. My mama transferred me to a public school here in Marikina. I had a hard time fitting in especially on the first few weeks. There were mean girls in our class! They can't accept that I automatically was put in section 1. Eventually, I became part of the school paper and learned how to dance ballroom (I think that's a public school thing hehe). Come highschool, my clique and I always danced to hits of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Solid Harmonie and Spice Girls. So I brought what I learned from all those in college. My friends and I even chose Modern Jazz as our PE elective. We choreographed a dance number for our finals to the tune of Rhythm of the Night! It had complete kabaklaan and all, haha. 

I miss dancing so much that I silly-danced with Sophia this afternoon. And guess what? I recorded a part of it and uploaded it on Youtube. Seeing my not-so fit self dance is an eye-opener. I need to lose some weight! Also, we looked crazy but what the heck, those are memories Sophia and I will surely laughed on when she's all grown up. Wanna see it? Sorry, I can't show it anymore. 😁

Photo courtesy of Unsplash