ZUMBA!

When I was a kid, I loved to dance. I took ballet first, but the teacher was mean and that dashed my hopes of becoming a professional ballerina. (Don't feel bad; I was five and mainly in it for the tutus anyway.) Then I discovered jazz. I danced my heart out for years. I took lessons with Donna, one of those hardcore jazz/aerobics people from the '80s who rocked the spandex shorts with a neon thong leotard over them. (That part creeped me out, but I figured it meant she was pretty legit.) I'll never forget the year that she placed me at the very front of the group's formation to lead during our end-of-the-year recital. We danced to the theme from Flashdance. It just doesn't get much cooler.

I don't remember why I stopped. It was probably due to other commitments like softball and violin. I always remember my dancing days fondly, though, and I miss having an outlet to let loose to the music like that in the company of others who love it, too. (And in a more organized way than, say, at a club or a wedding.) So when my favorite spinning instructor announced that she would be teaching a Zumba class on Monday nights, it was clear that destiny was calling my name.

Zumba (http://www.zumba.com/us/) is a new workout craze based around Latin dance. It features steps from salsa, merengue, and many other dances and uses really fun, fast-paced music. I tried it tonight and it was fantastic! It was fun because the steps changed with each song, so it was a mental workout too!

It's funny how I'm trying new things during medical school, a time that is notorious for its challenges and jam-packed schedule. I think what's happening, though, is that being frustrated by - and just plain unhappy with - school has made me really ask myself, What do you wish you could do? What makes you happy? in a way that doesn't always happen when I actually do have free time. It's like I'm forced to squeeze as much happiness as I can out of the tiny little moments of freedom that I seize. And I'm getting better and better at doing just that.