To my Late Bloomers

Hi P.I.M PALS,

Welcome to today’s blog post about becoming a late bloomer.

Firstly, what does it mean to be a late bloomer?

A late bloomer is someone who fulfills their potential much later in life. Meaning they have gifts and talents that go unseen for a while until recognized later than expected.

Therefore, I want to share with you a little story about how I became a late bloomer with something I always wanted to try when I was little but started much later in life.

Once upon a time, when I was a little girl, I wanted to try ballet. But the fear of looking like a giraffe is what held me back from trying it.🦒 🩰

I thought that I would look awkward or taller than all the other girls in the ballet class, even though I was very petite in reality.

Every time my family and I passed by a ballet class, my parents asked me if I wanted to try it. But I always expressed my concern to them about looking like a giraffe. My parents tried to convince me otherwise, but they understood my feelings and did not force me to do ballet.

As time went by, life went on, and I kept getting older, I started to feel like ballet was more and more a lost cause to try out, and I could only blame myself for pushing it off constantly.

It was not until the age of 16 I had enough of holding back my desire to learn ballet. It took watching several ballet shows and recitals to inspire and motivate me so much that I talked it over with my parents, and we decided on a dance school for me.

Knowing myself, I wanted to go to the most prestigious ballet school in my state to be excellent in ballet. But since I was just a beginner, I was convinced by my family that it would be best for me to go to a dance school that would be less strict on me. Therefore, we decided that I would go that route but only temporarily.

I then went shopping for dancewear for the first time, which was fun. Also, we made a stop at the library, where I found a book all by itself in the corner of the bottom shelf called “Classical Ballet Technique” by Gretchen Warren. It was the only one left, and I truly felt like this book was calling me. It gave me hope, and I often used it as a reference to self-teach myself ballet on my own time.

After much discussion, my family and I decided that I would start with two ballet classes every week on Monday and Tuesday and then gradually add more along the way if I wanted to. That way, I could balance both ballet and school without getting overwhelmed. And the days I was not going to ballet class, I was working on my turnout at home, which is the rotating of the hips causing the feet to turn outward. It is a very important part of classical ballet technique that needs to be mastered. But I had to do it within reason because I was just a beginner who was not that flexible. Therefore, I had to be patient with myself as I was learning these new ballet exercises. 😐

On the day of my first ballet class, my family and I rushed there to get on time. Luckily, my ballet bun was still neat in place in the car. I felt so nervous and unprepared, even though I was more than prepared.

Once I entered the ballet class, I saw girls much shorter in height and younger in age. Therefore, I immediately thought that I would become that imaginary giraffe ballerina. Did I feel awkward? I sure did! 😅👍

Despite having butterflies in my stomach, I was excited and loved my first ballet class. I truly already felt like a ballerina because ballet was no longer imaginary for me. After my first class, I felt motivated to continue taking classes at the dance school and practicing my ballet at home. 💕

As I began to take classes, the golden question from many of the girls was, “How old are you?” I tried to back out of this question every time because I felt embarrassed about my age. I just hoped that my age or height would not matter, but that would be hard to ignore when I felt like I was the “giraffe ballerina” in the class.🦒 🩰

The girls were shocked when I told them, “I JUST turned 16.” As you can see, I made sure to emphasize the word just since it was true. I was 15 not too long ago ( still old ). The girls were surprised because they thought that I was younger than I was.

But after they knew my age, they still embraced me. Some of the girls were very sweet and very wise for their age. They talked with me all of the time and helped me whenever I asked them for help. Meanwhile, other girls just stared at me, which was kind of awkward. 👀

After a few months went by, the first recital was coming up, and I was going to be a part of it! It was a dream come true, and we were preparing a ballet choreography for one of my favorite songs. I was going to get a beautiful costume and everything. I got so nervous and excited about it all at once.

But for the most part, I thought that a recital was too soon for me because there was still a lot I needed to learn. Therefore, it was my personal choice to not participate in the recital but to continue to learn and improve my ballet skills.

Eventually, I left the dance school for a variety of reasons. But even after I left, I continued to teach myself ballet at home. I have made ballet a part of my daily life and it has inspired me in many other ways than just dancing. I aspire to glorify God with anything I do relating to ballet because He is the One who gave me this desire in the first place. 🩰 💕

Therefore, I am glad that I went ahead and started ballet, even if it was when I was 16. But when I look back, 16 was not that old to start ballet like I exaggerated it to be.

In fact, what I found very helpful and inspiring was looking up to ballerinas who started late like myself and still became successful, rather than compare myself to ballerinas who started ballet at a very young age. Therefore, my tip would be to look up to other late bloomers in your field of interest who have started like you but still became successful.

I hope that this story of my experience encourages you to step out in faith to live and pursue your dreams. Do something that brings you enjoyment, and do not be afraid to be the giraffe in the room. 🦒

Here are three scripture verses that I want to give you to help battle feelings of fear and comparison.

Deuteronomy 31:6, which says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

2 Timothy 1:7, which says, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

And lastly, Galatians 6:4, which says, “Let each person prove and examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself to someone else.”

So to all my late bloomers, you must know that age does not matter to God. What matters to God is that you acknowledge the desires He has placed in your heart and glorify Him in everything that you do.✨

So, what is your dream?

Are you a late bloomer?

I hope you found this to be valuable, and if it resonated with you, I would love to hear your thoughts!

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Your P.I.M PAL,

Selene