“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”

It’s the day after Christmas. It is freezing outside. My friends are still on holiday. Coffee shop trips, cozy movies, shopping. My family is at home watching soccer- it’s boxing day.

I am at another dance intensive. Dance Christmas as we like to call it. I am not at my home studio. I am at a talent agency in the heart of Atlanta. Most of the dancers there are in their twenties. They are in college dance programs. Many are professionals. I am one of the only high schoolers.

The lights are dim. The studio is boiling hot. The music is blasting. The choreographers are looking for excellence. I am all together nervous and exhilarated.

That day was somewhat normal. I miss a lot of festivities for dance. Dance brings me joy. The feeling of that hot studio, with those talented artists and the intense choreographers ignites something unexplainable inside of me.

But I do miss the special moments. I miss watching soccer. I miss seeing my friends. As much as I love the hot studio, I miss the frigid winter days of ice skating and snow.

In the last moments of the dance intensive, the director came to talk to the dancers. He simply handed each person a piece of paper and said to write,

“My feet are on the ground.”

He then asked each dancer to consider what they were missing that winter day. He followed by saying,

“What plants your feet in the ground? Where are your footsteps taking you?” “You have every ability to leave, but you stay. Why is that?”

At first I thought this was odd, but now I reflect on this moment and I am reminded of Solnit’s piece Wanderlust, where she expresses deep concern for the connection we have to our space.  She says,

“Many people nowadays live in a series of interiors—home, car, gym, office, shops—disconnected from each other. On foot everything stays connected, for while walking one occupies the spaces between those interiors in the same way one occupies those interiors. One lives in the whole world rather than in interiors built up against it.”

Solnit expresses the sincere connection she feels through walking. She feels grounded to her space. Similarly, I am connected to my surroundings through my greatest passion, dance. When I wonder if I chose the right path, I am reminded that I am firmly planted where I am supposed to be.  Your path is taking you somewhere, but what keeps your feet on the ground? Why don’t you leave when it gets hard? If we stay in the interior, we risk leaving our world unknown. But if we walk, will we know which direction to take?

That’s the point. Your feet are on the ground. Trust your path. See the places you will go.