Being Okay with Being Mid

I have found myself at a point in life where I am mid at a lot of things that I’m doing. I have to tell myself that this is okay because the reason I am mid at most of these things is that I’m a beginner, but it’s still not fun to not be good. Luckily I’m not a perfectionist so I’m okay with doing things that I’m not good at yet. I am a beginner at so many things right now because I have started so many new hobbies and passions that I’ve never done before which is a good thing.

I’m not used to this feeling though. From the age of three to eighteen, I danced. With that much experience, it’s impossible to not be at least kind of good. All my life I loved having that outlet that I knew I was good at. Not only I was good at it, but I knew I was better at dancing than the majority of people. It is so comforting and confidence-boosting to have something that makes you feel superior and impressive in some way. Though pride is not a good thing, confidence is. While I am still confident now, even more confident than I was in high school actually, I am now confident in myself and my personality rather than in anything I can do.

In college, I realized how important it is to have hobbies. Having hobbies is something that I think a lot of adults consider unimportant as they get older, but I believe the opposite. Having hobbies brings you joy, gives you an outlet for your emotions, makes you unique, and gives you something to bond with people over. While it is my goal to have a job that I love and enjoy when I’m older, that isn’t a guarantee. Having passions outside of your professional life can help remind you that your work isn’t your whole world.

Here are some of the activities that I am currently mid at: coding, playing volleyball, operating cameras for production, running, editing videos, pickleball, and roller skating. Guitar and piano are the next two things I hope to add to that list. The important thing is that if I decide I want to be good at these things, I actually have to put in the work to get good.

The more time I spend pursuing these passions (for the record some of these like coding and camera operating are not passions) the more I will love them. One of the reasons I loved dance so much was because of all the struggles and setbacks I went to on my journey to eventually getting roles like Clara and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker. It gave me the chance to prove my mental and physical strength and accomplish the goals I set for myself.

The good news with these new hobbies is there is nowhere to go from here but up. I can only improve in these skills and hopefully one day they will be things that I can feel just as proud of as when I first did 32 consecutive fouette turns en pointe.