Welcome to today’s very special blog post of me celebrating my three-year anniversary (also known as “blogiversary”) of my blog, P.I.M & PINK! 🤗 💕
In celebration of my blog’s three-year anniversary, I posted a video of me (the blogger behind) on my blog’s official Instagram account, thanking all of you, my dear P.I.M PALS, for supporting my blog for three years. 💕💕\(o^-^o)/💕💕
You can watch the video down below! 👇
May God bless you all, and let us continue this journey together with God by our side. 🙏🤍
✨ Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) ✨ says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
Two years ago, I wrote a blog post called, “To My Late Bloomers“. In that blog post, I encouraged late bloomers to have the courage to still pursue their dreams, even if they are pursuing them much later in life.
As a late bloomer myself, I shared my own experience of taking ballet lessons at the age of sixteen, which I consider to be a late start in the ballet world.
Furthermore, in that blog post, I covered my experience at the dance school and how I was being received by the other ballerinas.
In that blog post, I expressed how happy I was to finally see myself have the courage to live my ballet dream, even if it meant feeling like a “giraffe in the room”🦒. Eventually, however, I did leave that dance school for a variety of reasons, primarily due to not receiving the feedback that I was looking for from the ballet teacher and being mistreated by some of the other dancers there.
Though I was still fine with leaving that particular dance school, I still desired to do ballet, which made leaving that dance school a bittersweet experience. After leaving, I stopped going to in-person ballet classes for a long time, and instead, I focused on my studies, finishing high school, and preparing for college. 📚✍🏼🏫
However, even after I left that dance school, I still continued to teach myself ballet at home with the intent to one day return to in-person classes for ballet.
Little did I know, in 2023, for my 21st birthday, my parents had a special present for me. Along with a trip to Washington D.C. to see the Japanese cherry blossoms in the spring (which you can read more about in my “Begin to Blossom” blog post), my parents also surprised me with a private ballet lesson from the owner of a professional dance school that I always dreamed of being enrolled to.
Upon hearing the news, I cried tears of joy and excitement as I felt like this was the start of a new chapter in my life. However, I also felt very nervous because I heard that the owner of the dance school was a very strict ballet instructor, and I feared that my current level of ballet would not impress her. Thankfully though, my parents alleviated my concerns by constantly reminding me throughout the week that this private ballet lesson was to help me grow in my ballet skills and capabilities and that I did not have to be perfect or try to impress the ballet instructor. 😅
The day finally came on Friday, May 12, 2023, when I had my first private ballet lesson with the owner of the ballet school of my dreams! I could not help but smile throughout the entire time she instructed me. My mother basically filmed the entire lesson! 😄🩰🤍
During the private ballet lesson, the owner asked me why I wanted to do ballet, and my response to her was that I always loved ballet, and I always had a desire to do it. Additionally, I mentioned to her that over the years, I have watched many ballet shows from her dance school, and it inspired me to learn ballet and perform gracefully and beautifully on stage one day. 🩰✨
Throughout the private ballet lesson, the owner was impressed with me. For one, she said that I was very smart and that I follow along fast. She even addressed my insecurity about my age (I was twenty years old at the time) by telling and reassuring me that my age was an advantage because, in her words, “The older you are, the faster you learn.” And therefore, she said that I will advance very quickly in ballet. Overall, the owner gave me very helpful feedback throughout the entire private ballet lesson, which I needed and appreciated so much. 🙏🤍
After the private ballet lesson was over, the owner’s husband pointed out to me several beautiful black and white photos of professional ballet dancers who graduated from their dance school. For one, he pointed out to me a photo of a successful male ballet dancer who started dancing at nineteen years old. He also pointed out to me photos of professional ballet dancers who are also professional figure skaters and even hockey players, which further inspired me as someone who has also been taking figure skating lessons and aspires to perform on ice one day (which you can read more about in my “Introducing New Series…Prove it to Yourself” blog post). ⛸️❄️
While at the dance school, I also met several wonderful ballet dancers that welcomed me with courtesy and gave me encouragement. For instance, I met a ballerina who is in her fifties and is currently taking beginner-level ballet classes at the dance school, which further served to mitigate my insecurity relating to my age. I also met an eighteen-year-old boy at the dance school who has only been doing ballet for two years and has competed in professional ballet competitions and received several ballet school scholarships. Seeing him showed me how someone my age (or close to my age) can excel so quickly at something they are passionate about, which further motivated me to work hard at ballet. 🩰✨
Overall, the private ballet lesson was a truly wonderful experience, in which I learned so much and became more motivated and inspired to continue practicing ballet. One notable experience that touched me was a quote I saw that was written on a brochure that my father pointed out to me in the dance school. The quote said, “Dance because you are beautiful.” Soon enough, I enrolled in the dance school and started taking regular ballet classes the next week on Saturday, May 20, 2023, and on that same day, I even watched a beautiful in-studio show at the dance school for the first time, which served to further inspire me! 🩰🤍
For the summer, I even decided to join a ballet summer intensive program on June 21, 2023, that is offered at the dance school that I am currently enrolled in. My father, who is a Marine, likes to call the ballet summer intensive program, “ballet boot camp”, because it is very intense, but it is still very exciting because I will be a part of ballet shows that I always dreamed of being in and I will be performing a solo in front of the owner and the advanced level ballerinas. So, stay tuned for that, reader, because I will be launching a new blog post about my first-ever ballet performances in the near future and I would love for you to be a part of this journey with me. 🩰✨
The point of me sharing with you my ballet journey so far though, reader, is to further reinforce the message to not let your age stop you from pursuing your dreams like it did mine for so long, especially when your dreams come from God. Did you know that some of your dreams come from God, reader? If you have a desire or desires gifted to you from God and it aligns with God’s will, have the courage to start working towards it, because it will manifest one day. ✨
Ballet is just one of my God-given desires, but I can say now that I am truly living out that desire as I am now training at a professional dance institution to become a professional ballerina. I even received confirmation of this desire from the Holy Spirit who took the time to speak to me through my father to tell me that I will soon be dancing at the professional apprentice level like the professional ballerinas in the ballet schools in New York and Europe. Furthermore, the owner of my dance school told me that one day I can be her apprentice, which aligned with what the Holy Spirit told me. All of this assured me that my desire to be a ballet dancer came from God and that He gifted me with it. 🩰✨
I am so excited about what awaits me as I pursue ballet. But no matter what, when I dance, I will be dancing for the Lord. I will be dancing from my heart for His glory, for He is the One who gave me this desire to dance in the first place. For that, I will always be grateful and bold to praise Him. 🩰🤍
Therefore, reader, if you have God-given desires, but you are holding yourself back because you think you are too old or too young or you missed your opportunity, go to God and trust Him with a plan to help manifest your desires and work towards them and He will guide you. As the Scripture verse, Psalm 37:4-5 (ESV) says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.”
Psalm 145:16 (ESV) says, “You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.”
Matthew 6:33 (ESV) says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Deuteronomy 31:6-8 (NIV) 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.”
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So, reader, what is your God-given desire? ✨
I hope that you found this post to be valuable and inspiring, reader, and if it resonated with you, feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section. I would love to hear from you. Thank you so much for reading! 🤍
Also, make sure to like and subscribe to my blog, P.I.M & PINK, so you do not miss out on new blog posts, videos, and content in the future. ✨
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May God grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans, reader, as it says in Psalm 20:4 (ESV). May God bless you and protect you always, and I pray that you are safe and healthy always. 🙏🤍
Today, I am introducing my first-ever series on my blog, P.I.M & PINK, called “Prove it to Yourself.”
Design by Selene Washington
In this series, I take you with me on my six-week journey of learning to ice skate and play tennis. ⛸ 🎾
This series consists of six blog posts, each documenting both an ice skating lesson and a tennis lesson.
What inspired me to create this series was after I had signed up for ice skating lessons and tennis lessons, which are two things I have always wanted to do since I was a little girl. 💕
What made me choose the title, “Prove it to Yourself”, for this series was a self-talk I had one day in my room while doing ballet. During this self-talk, I came to the realization that I want to prove to myself that I can do anything my heart desires to do, no matter how old I am or how “late” I am starting.
I used to think that I needed to prove to others that I can do something, which can be a source of motivation. But as someone who struggles a bit with comparing myself to others, I realized trying to prove myself to others will do me more harm than good. Therefore, I decided to pursue my goals with the motivation to prove to myself that I can accomplish what I set my mind to do.
The one who guided me to this new mindset was God. He spoke to me during my self-talk and helped me overcome my doubt towards pursuing my interests. I could not help but feel so thankful and emotional that God would take the time to speak to me. Even more so, His words were timely because, unbeknown to me, I would later sign up for ice skating lessons and tennis lessons.
I did ice skating only once in my life, and it was really difficult, and I have not played tennis in a long time. Given these concerns, I was hesitant at first to sign up for ice skating lessons and tennis lessons. 😅
But then I reminded myself about the conversation I had with God and those doubts were alleviated. I began to see ice skating lessons and tennis lessons as perfect opportunities to prove to myself that I can do what I am interested in. Also, I was encouraged to start these lessons.
Perhaps, reader, you have started to think about that thing you have always wanted to do. If so, stop wishing you had learned it earlier in life if that is what you are doing. It is better late than never, as they say.
For example, if you desire to learn piano, start playing those keys, no matter how bad it sounds at first. You’ll get there! 🎹
Or, maybe you have always wanted to plant a garden. If so, go out to the store, buy some seeds, and just start. It all begins with taking that first step. 🌱
Whatever it is that you desire to do, I encourage you to start now. ✨
However, keep in mind, reader, that whatever you decide to do can impact other areas of your life, whether it is positive or negative. For example, I believe that ice skating will motivate me to pursue other interests.
For some people, this is not a big deal, but for me, it is. I like to see ice skating lessons and tennis lessons as opportunities to expand and grow, and that is what I love… the feeling that I am growing. 🌱
I am also very excited to see how God is going to use this experience for His glory, for He is the one who put these desires in my heart in the first place. ✨
So, reader, here’s a question: Are you trying to prove something? If yes, is it to yourself or someone else?
Galatians 6:4 (KJV) says, “But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”
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The next blog post will be Day 1 of the “Prove it to Yourself ” series. I encourage you to subscribe because I would love for you to continue with me on this journey. Thank you so much for reading! 😄💕✨
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