Unleashing My Inner Dancer: Conquering Doubts and Finding Joy

Fun Fact Friday: I don’t have natural rhythm, yet here I am part of a group that belly danced on the stage of an opera house. I have also performed Zumba as part of a large Indian Festival.

So until I was in my 30’s I thought I couldn’t dance…

In my high school — which I often call “Central America High” — we had a jukebox in the cafeteria. Students danced, danced, danced.

I never danced at lunchtime.

I have a cousin who was one year my junior and known in the region for her dancing. Not wanting to be compared to her, I didn’t realize she didn’t just get up & start dancing like that.

Anyone familiar with New Jersey dance moms? Well, my aunt was one. 😉

By college, I knew I could dance freestyle. I danced my way through my freshman year at Ohio State. At parties, I had low light, no expected steps, & pure joy at being asked to dance going for me.

In my senior year, when I felt I had nursing school in the bag, I ventured into a ballroom dance class a la Linzy Elizabeth.

The class was about 10 weeks. Most of the guys were OSU wrestlers who were forced to be there and begrudgingly danced. The only willing partner was a guy who reeked of garlic & I couldn’t get close.

I didn’t do well, so I thought, “I just don’t have natural rhythm.”

But I really wanted to dance… so how did I get from thinking I didn’t have rhythm to dancing on a stage?

Using my problem-solving skills gained from years of teaching and learning, I implemented a system:

✅ Determining that I wanted to dance as part of a group
✅ Being okay with starting as a novice
✅ Using my scientifically trained mind to recognize that dance is made up of patterns 1, 2, 3, & 4…
✅ Practicing, practicing, practicing
✅ Dancing regularly, belly dance classes, Zumba classes, ballroom classes….dancing every week, several times a week

To be successful faculty women, we have to be productive academic writers.

Maybe you think:
“I’m not a natural writer.”
OR…
“I love teaching and/or doing my research but writing about it is not fun.”

I have heard both from my colleagues & clients.

How do you get to be a productive good writer?

💥 Determine what you want (tenure, promotion, better pay, speaking roles…)
💥 Be okay with where you are now
💥 Develop patterns… processes & systems
💥 Practice—i.e. WRITE
💥 Write regularly

You may say “Yeah, that’s easier said than done.”

I got you. 💙💙

Here’s a bonus tip that I used with my Agraphia Group (i.e. fear of writing).

In the next 7 days…

✨ Set a timer & write for 10 minutes on 5 of 7 days
OR…
✨ Write 200 words for 5 of 7 days

No grammar, punctuation, or syntax—JUST WRITE.