My Biggest Takeaway From 2021
Waking up to the gentle rays of the sun peaking through my window, I got up from my mattress on the floor. Peering over the second floor banister at the gleaming floors of the giant pentacle dance studio I was to call home for the next week, I felt a wave of glee wash over me. This was going to be my first dance residency.
Turning my phone to airplane mode, I made a vow to myself to stay fully present in this experience and trust those under me to do the admin work while I was away.
That experience helped me come to my biggest takeaway of 2021: to make more space in my life for what matters to me.
Throughout 2021, the best moments I can remember came out of giving myself the time for what really mattered to me.
Everything from fully immersing myself into my first dance residency for a week at the Dragon’s Egg to hiring more support through my Dance Entrepreneur Fellow Program. These things allowed me to take the time to work on the projects that lit me up inside.
At the Dragon’s Egg I was able to create a video sample of most of my full-length work, We’re All Immigrants. This allowed me to apply for the residency I got in July to finally finish it after two years of trying to make it happen during a pandemic.
My Dance Entrepreneur Fellowship Program allowed me to give people work that would support my bigger picture plans. For instance, we applied and got into way more residencies and shows because I had someone else writing the applications for me. I instead got to focus on the creation of the projects.
My fellows even allowed me to take time off from going on a spontaneous trip to Jamaica and to spend most of my August in Maine with the last summer I’d ever spend with one of my friends.
And for the first time ever, with the help of my new hires, I was able to have most of January pre-planned for 2022 right before Christmas. I even was able to write out a whole plan for 2022 in just 2 hours with one of my fellows by my side.
I’ve decided to make my 2021 takeaway my 2022 resolution. Cheers to making more time in my life for what matters.
What’s your biggest lesson from 2021? Let me know in the comments below.
