Recently, I've taken up and become addicted to a new hobby: pole dancing. This is something that I've always wanted to do but has always been outside of my comfort zone. I never thought that I'd actually get around to doing it. I had a friend that was taking lessons and I was always so jealous of every pole dancing picture that she posted on Facebook. But even still, I always found a way to talk myself out of going to lessons with her.
Then, one day, she sent me a message and asked me to come to a class with her. I was both nervous and excited, but mostly nervous. After my first class, I was hooked and after my fourth class, I decided that I wanted to compete. Before I knew it, I'd absolutely fallen in love with pole dancing.
But even though I loved it so much, for the first few weeks that I went to class, I hardly talked about it. Only a select few people knew that I was doing it. I knew that there was a stigma that surrounded pole dancing and that it tended to be associated with stripping. I didn't want to listen to people make ignorant comments or judge me based on something that I loved. But after a while, I realized that if I hid it, it might look like I was embarrassed about it, even though I wasn't. And more importantly, I realized that
I didn't care what other people thought because I knew the truth and that was all that mattered.
So I finally decided to tell people. Once I did, there were a few general reactions that I received. "Oh, you're a pole dancer? I bet your husband loves that", "I can't believe that you're a stripper. I never would've pictured you doing that", etc. They were the same reactions that I'd wanted to avoid. Thankfully, however, there were some people that were, and still are, very supportive of my pole dancing endeavors. And for that, I'm extremely grateful.
But one of the most popular questions that I get asked is
why I pole dance. And the answer is quite simple: It's brought me nothing but happiness. Pole dancing has taught me how to be stronger, more flexible and more brave than I've ever been in my life. It's pushed my limits and gotten me to do things that I never thought that I could. It's thrown me out of my comfort zone and gotten me to try new things. It brought me into this wonderful community full of the most supportive, encouraging and delightful people, people that I never would've met otherwise. When anyone in our class succeeds, everyone is genuinely happy for that person. We go out and do things together outside of class and always have a wonderful time together. So I'm not only doing something that I love, I'm doing it while surrounded by amazing company.
This move needs some practice but I'm still
incredibly proud of myself for coming this far.
There's also one more significant benefit to pole dancing, one that I never saw coming. I've always had anxiety issues but over the last few years, they've gotten more difficult to deal with. Ever since I've started pole dancing, my anxiety levels have decreased significantly. And that's because I have an outlet, a place to put all of my nervous energy. An escape from my daily life. For an hour an a half a few times a week, nothing else exists and I forget my problems. It's been extremely therapeutic for me. Pole dancing has allowed me to become a more positive and confident person. I feel
empowered. I feel
strong. I feel
better.
I look forward to every class and to learning just what else I'm capable of. I'm learning to do things that I never thought were possible, all while having a good time with wonderful people. I've only been doing this for a few months and I'm amazed at my progress. It makes me wonder how much better I'll be in just a few more months. I've undergone amazing transformations within myself, both inside and out. I'm proud of myself for even trying something new, let alone continuing with it and competing. I'm so glad that my friend asked me to come with her. The only regret that I have is not starting sooner.
So if you have something that you've always wanted to do, do it. It might turn out better than you've ever imagined. It certainly did for me.
-Chelsea
