Life of Ardor

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What Did You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up? Chances are, you ended up being someone completely different! Here is my story...

When I was six years old, my mom took me to a dance school. I remember walking into a dance classroom filled with girls wearing cute pink and white tutus. That was the day when I realized that I found what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Yes, I was 6 and I already knew what I wanted to do in the future. Silly me! 

Dancing WAS my life at that time. For the next 10 years, my life revolved around dance. I was a part of a dance group, which consisted of amazing dancers, who were also my dear friends. We went on so many competitions, most of which we won. We were pretty good, and I loved it. When I was 12, I already had a plan to apply to one of the best professional dance universities in Ukraine after I graduated high school. My trajectory of my future seemed crystal clear, and I didn't even think about anything that could possibly change that. 

Long story short, my parents decided that we would move to America when I was 14. This was such shocking news for me, because I did not want to leave my country, where I had friends and family. Of course, not to forget about my future plans. 

Can you imagine being a teenager and going across the world to find a completely different culture and people? Let me tell you, it was crazy! It definitely took me a few years to find myself again, and get used to a new life. I am glad that I always had my parents by my side; otherwise I would not have been able to overcome the struggles that I had during the period of adjustment. Thank God, my mom took me to study at a higher level school, where I started learning English in the first grade! It would have been much worse if I could not speak the foreign language at all.

Now looking back at those years, and reminiscing about those times, I find myself laughing at the things that I experienced. For example, I remember my first day of high school. Oh my goodness, I was so confused because everyone had their own separate schedule, and such a system is not used in Ukraine. There, you have a class of at least 20 people going from one grade to the next together. 

Thinking back to my teenage years, I never would have thought that I would receive two college degrees before going to grad school to become a doctor. I never would have thought that dance would still be a part of my life, but more as a hobby. I never would have thought that I would become a blogger, and that I would love this as much as dance - maybe even more. I am so grateful for everything that I was able to achieve while living here in America. I was given so many opportunities to succeed, and I am very happy that I took those opportunities and turned them into the most important points of my life. 

I believe that everything happens for a reason. Even if you think that your life isn't perfect right now, it will get better. As long as you have faith, a desire to succeed in whatever you are doing, and you are prepared to work towards your dream, you will slowly but surely get there! :)

I hope you guys enjoyed this post. I know it is a little more personal that what I usually blog about, but I figured why not share something that made me who I am today! 

Have an amazing weekend! Don't forget to stop by the blog tomorrow! Here you will find post #6 out of the 7 daily posts I am doing this week. :)