I first met John during my sophomore year in high school. He had come to my ballet studio first as an auditioner, and then, eventually, as a permanent student. My first impression of him was not particularly flattering. I didn't think he had any real potential as a dancer, especially in the ballet world. And I certainly did not think that we would ever become close friends. But, as the weeks went on, and I got to know him better, I realized what a misjudgment I had made. His story was an inspiration to me.
John had been a nationally ranked coxswain throughout high school and college. In fact, he had been on of the youngest coxswains ever selected to be a part of the national team. His coxswaining had even gotten him a full scholarship to college. In my eyes, John's life could not have been panning out any better. It seemed like everything had been set for him. He was getting the opportunity to go to a great school, on full scholarship, and continue to pursue what he was good at, coxswaining.
However, as he began his college life, he found himself unsatisfied and unhappy. So, he made the decision to drop out of college, quit coxswaining for the crew team, and move out to New York to chase his dancing dream. John did something that most people, including myself, would be too scared of doing. He couldn't be sure that his dreams would come true, but he dropped everything to follow them anyway. When I asked him how he'd made the decision to leave everything he had to come to New York his reply was simple. "It was easy." He said, "In Chicago, I wasn't happy. I was in a great school, on a great rowing team, but I still wasn't happy. I knew that dancing would make me happy, so I went for it. No one was stopping me but myself. I didn't want to end up regretting passing up the opportunity to follow my dream."
I had never seen things in terms that were so plain and simple. If I had had to make the decision, there would have been a thousand different components that had to be factored in before I could make a decision. By the time that I had generated a list of the pros and cons of following my dream, I would probably have managed to talk myself out of doing it. John taught me that sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith, and try or you'll regret not trying at all.
I had always held back, scared of failure. But, I let a lot of great opportunities pass me by because I feared disappointment. I realized that, like John, the only person standing in the way of me reaching my goals was myself. Whether I succeeded or not was irrelevant. If I gave my absolute best effort and things still didn't work out, I could still be happy. I had tried. And that was all I could really do.
John had been a nationally ranked coxswain throughout high school and college. In fact, he had been on of the youngest coxswains ever selected to be a part of the national team. His coxswaining had even gotten him a full scholarship to college. In my eyes, John's life could not have been panning out any better. It seemed like everything had been set for him. He was getting the opportunity to go to a great school, on full scholarship, and continue to pursue what he was good at, coxswaining.
However, as he began his college life, he found himself unsatisfied and unhappy. So, he made the decision to drop out of college, quit coxswaining for the crew team, and move out to New York to chase his dancing dream. John did something that most people, including myself, would be too scared of doing. He couldn't be sure that his dreams would come true, but he dropped everything to follow them anyway. When I asked him how he'd made the decision to leave everything he had to come to New York his reply was simple. "It was easy." He said, "In Chicago, I wasn't happy. I was in a great school, on a great rowing team, but I still wasn't happy. I knew that dancing would make me happy, so I went for it. No one was stopping me but myself. I didn't want to end up regretting passing up the opportunity to follow my dream."
I had never seen things in terms that were so plain and simple. If I had had to make the decision, there would have been a thousand different components that had to be factored in before I could make a decision. By the time that I had generated a list of the pros and cons of following my dream, I would probably have managed to talk myself out of doing it. John taught me that sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith, and try or you'll regret not trying at all.
I had always held back, scared of failure. But, I let a lot of great opportunities pass me by because I feared disappointment. I realized that, like John, the only person standing in the way of me reaching my goals was myself. Whether I succeeded or not was irrelevant. If I gave my absolute best effort and things still didn't work out, I could still be happy. I had tried. And that was all I could really do.
