Jolie Week 4: The Significance of Commitment

    This weekend was the Shabbaton, and I was very excited to go on this trip. Unfortunately, I had a conflict. I was unable to attend the Shabbaton due to my commitment to dance. Before the Shabbaton had an official date, I had already been placed in a dance that had a rehearsal that weekend. This was a hard choice to come to terms with because I always feel like I have to choose dance over other experiences. I take my commitments very seriously.  I think this is why I have a hard time choosing between school and dance. Both are big commitments to me. I understand that I already agreed to go to choreography this weekend, but sometimes all I want to do is be a normal kid like everyone else. The Shabbaton is just one example of a time when I had to choose dance over something else. Even though I have felt this way multiple times I knew that I wasn't the only person feeling like this since my teammates have had to make similar sacrifices in their own personal lives as well. For some, this decision is easy to make, while others have a harder time missing experiences such as school events. The decision was fairly simple for me since I knew what I had signed up for when deciding to compete. 

    For my friend, having to choose between dance, school, and having a social life has been a tough decision for her. She has been struggling to juggle her dance life and the other aspects of her life for quite some time now. After a long day of choreography this past weekend, she decided it was the last straw for her. Her bad started to outweigh the good, and she didn't want to continue with dance for this season. This didn't come as a shock to me since I knew she was feeling like this for a while. I was still surprised because we had already started the season. I understood where she was coming from, and why she went through with her decision to quit, but it sparked a question for me.  “Why do I always choose dance instead of other fun activities?”. I came up with answers like, I love my friends there and it's fun for me. But the only logical reason for choosing dance was because I made a commitment. My commitments are extremely important to me and help when trying to have a structured lifestyle. My commitment to dance has shown me how to stick to something even when it gets hard. Committing to dance has shown me how to be accountable to myself and the goals I set for myself. Without this commitment, I wouldn't be the person I am and I will always be grateful for that. 

What is a commitment you have in your life?