"Work"

I personally feel that the word, "work" can mean many different things to many different people. It's my belief that a person's definition of work depends on how they were raised and under what circumstances. I was raised by a strict, yet loving, family on a horse farm in the Middle of Nowhere, Ohio. Work has been a part of my life from a very young age, therefore to me it is hard and disciplined. It also means being passionate about what one is doing to make oneself want to do well.

When I think of work in terms of ballet class, it's all about multitasking. I find myself concentrating physically and mentally simultaneously. Mentally remembering a combination while physically executing a combination can be trying, especially after a long day's worth of classes, or any time really if one isn't in the right mindset upon arriving to class. Physical and mental work are tiring enough on their own, so when put together, it's twice as challenging; however worth it. Without putting in the necessary work, one cannot achieve the goals one sets for themselves. Goals require practice, practices requires work, work requires dedication, discipline, and the will to succeed. Also, without passion for what one is doing, the work one puts in might as well go to waste. If a person isn't fully invested in what they're doing, they might as well not be there at all, because any work they put in is merely half of what it could be.

Mostly, when I think of working during ballet class, the word that comes immediately to mind is "hard." Ballet is hard; it's something we're all aware of. It's hard to achieve our desired line. It's hard to nail a triple turn. It's hard to look graceful as we're launching ourselves through the air. Ballet is just hard. But it's beautiful, and when done right can feel very freeing, which is why I keep coming back to it. The end result is always worth the work put in, but only if one works hard enough. To work, I feel one must be in the right state of mind. One must be calm, and be temporarily freed of the outside world to have the attention span needed for class. If a person's mind is clear, then all that's left to think about in ballet class is the combination currently presented to oneself. I feel that if that's all I can think about, I'm better prepared to do well in class.

In conclusion, to me work is, as I stated earlier, hard. It's hard to look like what one wants to look like. However, with basic principles like discipline, concentration, passion, dedication, and the desire to do well, the work put in will produce desired results in time.