It's not quite the end of 2017, but it is close enough...lol.
As 2017 comes to a close, I figured it would be a good time to reflect on the progress that I have made during my pole journey. 2017 started off with me pushing myself and finally moving up from Level 2 to Level 3. The first few classes that I took were SUPER scary, but as I took more and became more confident in myself, I began to realize that there was nothing that I couldn’t handle, even if a modification was needed. I began to trust in my skillset and base, and loosened up as I began to take more classes. Now, I very much feel comfortable in my level 3 classes, and look at new skills as challenges to be conquered, rather than things that I will never accomplish. More so than ever before, 2017 taught me to be patient in learning new skills, as I needed to not only learn body position, but also develop the strength to achieve the new skills.
To get perspective I always like to get a visual on how far I have come in the year. Check out my video from the end of last year:
And my most recent pole recap vid:
The one thing that jumps out to me is my willingness to trust my body when learning new skills. One of the scariest things I remember about starting my pole journey is knowing how to catch yourself or prevent yourself from falling while trying to shift into the correct position. Now- I haven’t at all in any way mastered a lot of the new skills I have been learning (my toes still refuse to point at times) but, I am comfortable transitioning in and out of the move, or adding it to a routine or combo to test my endurance.
The good thing about me pushing myself to the next level, is that now when I go back to level 2, I can focus on cleaning up my skills so that they are competition ready when I put them into a routine. Doing this adds a new layer of difficulty, as making a trick look nice is a whole other challenge, especially when you have areas such as flexibility and strength that you need to work on.
For 2018, there are a whole new set of skills that I want to accomplish- and I am DETERMINED to make it happen. Can’t wait to check in and see my new progress!
Xoxo, Vicky O.