HOPE RISING

This morning I experienced a wild storm during sunrise. The sky was a hypnotic shade of mango; the wind was blowing so fiercely through clouds that wrapped like silver ribbons against the rising sun. I thought I would blow away like Mary Poppins.  As I was anticipating blowing away to the Land of Oz suddenly the rain stopped and a brilliant rainbow appeared, it looks so close as if I could reach out and touch it. The rain ceased as if the rainbow made a covenant with the earth and there is a strange calm in the air. I began to think of how situations can change in an instant – a hopeless situation can turn around immediately and even if not visible at the moment hope and faith  lead the way ignite the power of change.

I finally got to see A Ballerina’s Tale about one of my Heroes, Misty Copeland who last year became the first African American Principal Dancer of the American Ballet Theatre. All of the odds were against her, and there were many time when she could have given up. She started dancing at 13 at the Boys and Girls Club, most career dancers have formalized training from the time they are toddlers. She overcame obstacles time and time again and eventually rose to the level of soloist At American Ballet Theatre. She got the prestigious lead role of the Firebird – a role that typically would go to a principal dancer. After that performance she finds out she had been dancing on a broken leg, and her leg could have broken in half at any moment. Her career could have ended right then and there, but after a rigorous rehabilitation process she not only comes back from the injury but comes back better than ever, and after her widely acclaimed performance of Swan Lake became a Principal Dancer. Misty’s life reminds me that anything is possible, and to always hold on to hope.

By: Kamaria George (02/25/2016)