dance it out.

Dancing was a huge part of my life for six years. In high school, after a tough day, going to dance with my girls at Encore made the bad day fade away. Not only did I dance at a studio with built choreography, I loved dancing even if it was spur of the moment. I was the typical girl who danced around in her room, singing into a hairbrush. I loved dancing with my best friend when we were killing time before going out for the night. I lived and breathed by the phrase "when in doubt, dance it out," and dancing was my remedy for any kind of struggle you could think of. I did not care what anyone thought, or if my dancing was actually terrible. I did it for me, and there was no such thing as a sad moment dancing.

Somewhere along the line, I lost that. Real life got to me and I stopped listening to music that made me want to dance. I stopped dancing around my room and going to college dances. I did not even realize how big of a change that was for me for a long time. Over the past few years, I have lost myself, found myself, and lost myself again and the cycle continues. I am not really sure of a lot of things about life right now but I am sure of one thing, whatever the problem is, dancing is the remedy.

"If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best take it out and teach it to dance."

- George Bernard Shaw

Even if it is just bouncing to the beat in your car or making the vacuum your dance partner while cleaning, dancing brings happiness. Sometimes we take life too seriously. We forget that everyone is going through the every day struggles that take their toll over time if we do not step back for a moment and let ourselves be happy. Happy with the fact that we even have the ability to dance in the first place. So next time you get the urge to dance, do not take it for granted. Get up and dance without caring what anyone thinks, and watch all your stresses of the day just fade away.

simple pleasures.

The past few months I have been focusing on recreating myself; building myself up to be a person I feel confident with being. Being me, whoever that is. One thing I have noticed that has built me up more than anything else has are every day, simple pleasures. When was the last time you sat and appreciated those little moments, those natural highs throughout the day that bring even the slightest smile?

One thing I think deserves some appreciating is sleeping in, because who does not love that moment in the morning when you look at your alarm and see that it's only four in the morning? On the best days, (after sleeping in of course), I sit on the porch with my cat, Otto, and brush him in the fresh air. Anyone who lives away from an area that has serious air pollution should take a minute just to go outside and appreciate the fresh air, the blue skies, and the green grass. On a rainy day, my ideal day is sitting by the windows listening to the rain hit the house, cozy with a blanket and my cat. Cherish those cleansing, beautiful, rainy days. Music is another simple pleasure that I think a lot of us take for granted because it is always somewhere in the background, but sitting down with your headphones in and really listening to the music is something else. Listen to your old favorite songs, find new songs you connect with, because as of right now, music has been what is changing my outlook. Music can sympathize and rejoice with you, and even "when words fail, music speaks."

Maybe all of these simple pleasures are not what other people smile about, but if anyone is struggling to feel even a little bit of happiness, look for these simple pleasures that bring even a hint of a smile, and hold onto them, it'll make a world of difference.