Yesterday was a bit of a bummer. I posted an article on xoJane about the Free People ad, and I got a fair amount of flack for it in the comments section. It’s the Internet, so it’s not like I was surprised but…well, okay, I guess I was a little surprised. I just didn’t find the topic controversial enough to inspire backlash. But it did.
So for a minute, I felt bad for myself. It felt like someone tossed a wet blanket over my excitement to tentatively venture back into dance writing. Then a friend of mine blessed me with some very important words:
You know what? I can dance if I want to. I can leave my commenters behind. Because my commenters don’t dance and if they don’t dance then they’re no commenters of mine.
Okay, actually, if you don’t dance you can still be my friend/commenter. Also, I’m not going to all of a sudden start writing about dance and only dance from now on. Yesterday made me realize that I do need some balance. One of the hardest things about dance is that you can become so absorbed in it, so thoroughly obsessed. Once it’s got it’s grips in you, it’s easy to wrap your entire identity around it. So I won’t do that. I’m about so much more than dance now. But it can still be an important part of me. Just as important as, say, a good olive spread or a really moving episode of Dr. Who.
…What? You know I love me a good spread.
The Olive Gal
green of skin, black of heart
