An important “literacy sponsor” in my life so far has been my dance instructor, Majid. He is someone who has encouraged me to open the door to a previously closed hobby of dancing. When I first moved to New York, I was reluctant to put myself out there as I was missing my friends and reluctant about moving again for the third time. I was upset about not having any friends and at the same time, I was not doing anything about either. I closed myself off to the kids at my high school because I couldn’t connect with them. Furthermore, I quit performing activities and hobbies, like dancing, that I cherished. However, my aunt introduced me to a dance team because she had discerned this period of distress I was experiencing. “Tasnim, you will only feel better if you allow yourself to.” She was right, I am in control of my life and only I could change my experience in a new city to better myself. Through this introduction, I met a leader whose energy was infectious and he aided me in indulging myself back into a hobby I loved.
“We don’t dance for the money or praise, we dance because we love the little community we have built here and it feels good to perform together.” This is what my instructor first proclaimed when he called to invite me to one of our first rehearsals for a show we had coming up. Dancing is also a type of linguistic art. There are steps, body movements, beats, and rhythms that all make up the semantics of it. My instructor always encouraged me to do better and was never hesitant to critique me in instances that I required improvement. This push made me confident in myself and I later started stepping outside of my comfort zone. Once I found something here in my community that made me happy, I felt inspired to do more. I started doing better in school, I promoted myself to make friends, I got a job on the side to make some money, all while I was practicing a hobby that I admired. I relished the team we had built as we all shared one similar passion outside of our personal lives. Who would’ve known that all it took was one push from a leader in my life to appreciate a language I had once abandoned to puzzle everything else together.
Thanks for this, Tasnim! You share your emotional experience of this transition and you bring your characters to life with dialogue. Isn’t it remarkable how our most stern and demanding teachers can so often become the ones to whom we feel the most loyalty and love?
This is amazing- I loved reading about how your dance instructor helped you step out of your comfort zone. Also, the last sentence was really effective; it captured your experience with dancing.