So, You Think You Can Dance?

Okay, since my previous blog was more on the serious side of things, I've decided to give you folks a bit of a laugh with this one.

So, during my tenure at Acadia University (yes, I have a lot of memories and experiences from these days), I was affectionally called "slack, slacky, the slackest, and several other variations of basically the same thing. I hosted several UNFORGETTABLE parties during my time at Acadia, and let me tell you, my friends are STILL talking about them! From the moment I turned 19 years old (the legal drinking age in Canada), the turn-up was REAL!

But anyways, maybe I'll talk about those parties in a separate blog post.

So back in 2009, I was at a party thrown by some friends from Bermuda in their dorm room suite. How it was set up was that there was a large living room that was now turned into a dance floor. There were SO many people there that many of us were pressed against the wall, if not on the body of someone of the opposite sex...it was a GOOD party.

So, as I mentioned, many of my friends called me "slack", and this was because of the way in which I danced...which I can now admit when I really think about it was pretty vulgar back then. Anyways, let's not dwell too much on my past life (ha!).

So during the party, the DJ started playing all the "loose" songs...you know, those songs that make you want to grind up against the wall unashamed? Yeah, those; I was no exception. I absolutely LOVE reggae, dancehall, and R&B music.

But anyways this is where things got crazy!

The DJ decided to play the song "Hice It Up" by Lady Saw, and everyone know this song was my JAM! For every party that I attended, if the DJ played that song, I kid you not, my friends would proceed to bang on the wall, screaming "Ayyyyyyyye, Darry!!!" as the song began to play (my friends really knew how to hype me up!).

Now listen, let me tell y'all that I was NOT under the influence of alcohol! But, when the song began to play, and the bass hit my spine and moved down to my legs, I had to follow along.

Here are the lyrics relevant to this post:

"When mi fling it up from the left yeah,

Fling it up from the right

We know how fi fling it up

Wi know how fi fling it up, yeah-eaah".

Because I've already mentioned that this was MY song, it means that I've danced to this song MANY times, and so I was somewhat of a professional of "flinging it up". However, on this particular night, my body had other plans.

As the song continued to play and I began to now lift up my left leg, twisting my knee side to side, in an effort to "fling it up", of course, all I felt and heard was this LOUD "pop", followed by INDESCRIBABLE pain! I had twisted my knee out of place! All for Lady Saw!

Immediately I began to cry, and luckily for me noone really saw what happened, all they knew was that the party queen left the party early AND during HER song!

I was so lucky to have my friend Kazh at the party with me. She let me hold on to her as we made our way back to my dorm room with me hopping on one leg, in the snow, up three flight of stairs, and in tremendous pain.

Even today, I still cannot explain how that happened. When the doctor asked me how I injured myself, I told him I slipped in the snow.

What I look like telling him the truth?! I ain't no self-snitch!

Ladies and gentleman, the doctor came back with my X-ray results and told me I tore a ligament in my knee, in which I spent the next FOUR months going to physical therapy, FOUR times a week!

Yes, I know...my life, your entertainment.

The lesson here is that sometimes we may think we are good at something, but there is always room to improve our skills to become better and then to become the BEST; and so, we have to regroup, redesign, and recreate. So, my advice to you is to never let a little hiccup in the road stop you from doing what you love!

Now, I still love dancing and I still love that song. However, you will never catch me "flinging up" anything, anywhere, anytime ever again.

So, in this case, I will not be "perfecting my craft" of dancing. I've made peace with the fact that I am a danger to myself (see, "Wait, What's That Stabbing Pain?" post) in EVERYTHING that I do and so, I only dance in the privacy of my own home, near a First Aid kit.