RANT: College Dance Student

[Guest BBNButterscotch]

I'm getting very frustrated with my schedule. Don't get me wrong, ballet is important to me, but i have sooo many things I'm trying to do all at once. I have my school classes, I have a scholarship program that i'm in which includes being involved in a club (I'm currently in 3), Community Service, and a series of workshops. Plus Dance. I'm required to take a certain number of classes now that I'm on pointe, and this week I had to miss one for an event at school. Granted, i should probably drop a club. So I'm dropping one of them. But for the other one I'm a STudent Government Secretary, and I love doing that, so I can't quit that. I can alread forsee two more dance classes I'll have to miss for various required activities and I hate it. Plus, the one class at my level which i can use to "make up" missed classes falls on a night when I have a Pscyhology class. GRRRRRRRRR! Extreme Frustration.

[Guest dancerwannabe]

Welcome to the world of the adult dancer! I think I can safely say that probably all of us have these same sort of issues with incorporating dance into your schedule. For me its some rediculous crisis at work requiring me to stay late. Or it's some other work or school related event. There are a ton of classes I want to take and can't for the lack of time. (I'd like to take swing dancing classes and a stained glass making class.) But I can't. It is important in college to build activities that will be a platform for whatever professional career you choose. So I'd be careful of giving up things that impact your potential resume. I'm sure there are lots of ballet classes in the Chicago area. You can try to work a good schedule out of several different studios or something. I don't know...just thought I'd toss out a few ideas. Or you could always skip some of the college social events for dance class. Just make sure you go to the networking events. Those are most important. OR you could do the unimaginable and schedule all early classes to help out. (I always hated the 7:30 classes)

 

Good luck to you. Relax. It's ok.

[Guest BBNButterscotch]

Thanks. I'm trying to make it all work. The problem is the school I go to (which has a great psychology department), offers ALOT of night classes. About 1/2 are night classes, due to the population of students (alot of adult students)... so it makes it rough. It's just hard, and I felt like ranting!

[Jaana Heino]

While I agree that when in college one should also think about one's future resumé etc, I can't say an approach that puts priority always on that really works for me.

 

My own experience seems to suggest that when deciding what activity to take it is more useful for me to think "which of these do I really want to do most" than "what is useful for my career". Sometimes this means I choose a dancing class over a really, really career-wise-useful activity. Sometimes it means I skip swordsclasses to be on a lecture.

 

If one is on the right career with a suitable ambition, "what I really want to" turns up enough answers that support that career and ambition, even without specifically thinking about networking and building up the damn resumé.

 

Granted, you might not get as glorious a career as you would if you lived only for the career - but then again, if you now really, really want to take a dance class rather than go to an event important for that career, what makes you think you will want that career more than the dance classes in the future?

 

It took me a long time to realize that while I must think of getting a job etc enough that I have food and home, I don't have to have a career or a certain kind of life in addition to that. I can do what makes me happy. (I have since realized that part of what makes me happy is what makes my career, too... but that's another story altogether. ) That longish time is the reason for this rant, too.

 

One should note, though, that "what one really wants" is not the same as "what feels best right now". But I'm sure you all know the difference, though, being ballet students...;)

 

Sorry for the rant.