That Fork In The Road...

Okay guys! I'm writing to you today with such excitement that I can barely contain myself. I hope you guys will share my excitement. So here we go. I'm going to tell you a story, but if you stick with me until I get to the end, you will learn some truly exciting news. I PROMISE.

I can still remember the first time I danced on a stage. I was 4. I remember wearing a pink tutu and pink tights and pink leotard and pink ballet shoes. Totally girly. So I danced for a few years after that. Then I discovered Hot Wheels and Barbies and I stopped going to dance classes. 

Can you handle the cuteness? ;)

So when I was about 9 years old, I picked back up with the dance classes. I did a combination class for three years that was Jazz, Ballet, and Tap. I fell in love with ballet. It was honestly about the only time I was graceful and had good balance. Seriously. I'm a clutzo. Still. So because I loved ballet, I continued to take that until I graduated high school and I took Pointe which is when the pretty girls dance up on their toes. I did the Pointe for 5 years along with the ballet. I also took Hip-Hop. That was a lot of fun. Okay so I know that I just hit you with a lot of information. But here is a picture from my senior year. 

So I graduated high school and went off to college. I became an Appalachian State University Mountaineer. I was an undecided major. I loved dance but I knew I would never make it as a performer. So I figured I would find something I loved just as much. So my Sophomore year in college I declared a Psychology major. I had no clue what I was going to do with it but I knew that I wanted to help people.

Fast forward to this past Spring. I was a Junior and by this point I had taken 5 or 6 dance classes up here. I was in Modern 1 at the time and my teacher told me that she thought I would make a great dance teacher. I was like, uh scuse me. Say what?! I thought about it for a little while then just kind of pushed it out of mind thinking it was too late to do anything about it now. 

I met with my psychology advisor a few weeks later and he made me realize I didn't have a real passion or drive for psychology. I liked it and it interested me, but it didn't excite me or make me want to work hard in my classes. But I figured I would just finish the degree and worry about the rest later. 

One day, I was talking to my lovely beau and he told me that he just couldn't see me listening to people's problems all day. He said he could definitely see me doing something dance related. But mind you he hasn't seen me dance. So I began to mull this over more and more. Finally a couple weeks ago I talked to my sister about it. She told me to go for it. She said that mom and dad would understand and that I need to do what is best for me.

So 2 weeks ago, I went to the Dean's office in the College of Fine and Applied Arts and got a change of major form. I then emailed the Chairperson of the Dance department and she told me to email an advisor. So I did. I met with her last week. We discussed the process and what classes I would need and when I would graduate. I told her I would talk to my parents then let her know what was going to happen. 

I talked to my parents on Sunday and they told me to go ahead and that they were excited. Mostly excited that I finally figured out what I wanted to do. ;) 

So friends, today I turned in my change of major form. I changed my schedule for the second summer session and the fall. Guys. I'm a Dance Studies major and I am going to teach people to love dance as much as I do. I am so excited to start this journey. I will graduate a semester late but who cares. I have direction and I have plans. I made a choice at the fork and I know I chose correctly.

The two above pictures are from this past Spring.

With love, Carly ♥