Take Me Back to My Days as a Dancing Queen

For the last semester I have spent every Thursday afternoon from three to four o'clock with two amazing girls. Ana and Stephanie are two middle school young ladies who have recently immigrated to the United States from Central America. Their transition has been anything but easy. I'm been so impressed with their resilience and spirit. They have really taught me a lot.

So this Thursday, Ana calls me as I am running out the door to tell me that I should come and meet them in the cafeteria for a dance. I thought it would be like a cultural assembly or something. Oh, no. It was a full fledged middle school dance with decorations, a DJ, and adolescent awkwardness. I asked the girls if they wanted me to come back another day, so that they could enjoy the dance with their friends. My attempt to get out of it failed. "Venga y baila!" was their enthusiastic response. So, with that, I spent the next hour and a half of my life dancing with a bunch of 13-14 year old girls to songs of the 70s, 80s, and 90s with some Latin music mixed in. It was an experience that I thought I would never have to live again. But, thankfully it wasn't as weird as those times I went to the youth dances. It reminded me how hard middle school is. Everyone is just awkward, wanting to fit in, trying to establish an identity. The girls looked apprehensive at first, not sure of how this was all going to play out. But, as I just let all my inhibitions go, we all forgot the awkwardness and just danced. It was funny how every dance move I made, the girls would copy me. At times I felt like it was Simon Says. I have to say, it was a surprising experience. I had a good time, not because the dancing was fantastic, but because I got to see Ana and Stephanie in their environment, with their friends, and they were having a great time.

I hope I never have to go to another middle school dance again. And I am so thankful that I made it through that hard period in my life. It has taught me, that middle schoolers really just need all the love, support, and understanding we can give them. We can help others feel comfortable in their own skin...and dance to their own beat.