I picture myself center stage in the most enormous and fantastically beautiful ballroom in the world: Blackpool, England. Its walls and ceilings are covered in indescribable painting. The lights shine a fluorescent yellow, each one beaming down on us. My partner holds out his hand, inviting me to dance. The ballroom is filled with people in my life who have been here ‘til this very last moment. Their warmth fills my body, and I know at that moment that it is time to begin.


I open my mouth. I count quietly, so that only my partner could hear my softest whisper. “ One, two, one, two, three. “ The music begins. Every note fills my body with joy. Washes away the pain and hard work I went through to get here. We take a step to the left, then right, and begin our light but passionate waltz. With every step, I feel as if we are lifting slowly into the air until suddenly we are floating over our audience. We dance around the whole ballroom, smoothly gliding around everything in our way. I feel like I’m on top of the world!


With every second that passes, the music begins to fade. We slowly but gracefully start drifting down onto the ancient yet beautiful floor. We slowly come to a halt. The music ends. And all that pain and sorrow comes drifting back. Again, I will have to practice hours upon hours to get where I am right now. Again, I will sweat in every place possible. My feet will become swollen. My neck will become cramped. But then slowly I remember, none of this can happen unless I work through that pain. I will rise in the air one day. And when that day comes, it will be the end of all my pain, but the beginning of happiness. “ I dreamed a dream in time gone by, when hope was high and life worth living ” – Les Miserables.