86/100 Learning How to Dance Salsa
A Lesson in Humility and Care
It hit me one day: I need to get out more.
As a true egghead I ask: but how am I to do that? Specifically, I need a hobby that isn’t so bookish, man. I enjoy writing, reading, learning languages, but what else do I do? Really: how else can I be awesome?
I’ve decided to attempt to revive a quiet interest of mine: dancing. When I was still in Undergrad, I would take salsa lessons at the gym. I did this for a while. I wasn’t great, but I had a ton of fun doing it. And I’d do it again, too! I need something more social and fun than a “project” or another goal. I’m already neurotic about this kind of thing.
So here, I am. I’ve found a place in DC to learn, I bought the shoes, and I’m out there.
Listen. I wish so badly I could say that I’m already awesome out there, but wow do I feel dumb out there.
Sticking to the brand, I found a philosophical quote to give me bearing here. Behold:
“Music and dance free people from the demands of purposeful goal-directed life…” (129) — Space and Place by Yi-Fu Tuan
One of the things that gives me peace is that, though I may look like an absolute jigsaw out there, I am familiar with the patience needed to learn something. Even then, I struggle with this. It has been a great reminder that it is draining to put yourself out there in this way / so often. In fact, I haven’t built a routine of it yet. I’m still in this re-starting phase with it for the embarrassment of being a big dummy out there.
At the very least, it is a practice in humility and care, care in the sense that I need to protect myself from my negative self-talk. This sense of being exposed out there is also an invitation to practice giving myself grace.
Wish me luck.
More soon,
Trevor