Where's the Beef?

Have you ever seen that Wendy's commercial where they ask "Where's the Beef"?

I saw the remake commercial the other day and it brought back so many memories.

Let me catch you up...I have taken ballet ever since I can remember and ever since I can remember, I have loved it with all my heart. I have been so blessed to be able to have great teachers in my dancing career, some famous, some not as famous, but all have contributed in teaching me all I know about ballet, and even life. My very first teacher was Marius Zirra.  He was a little Romanian man who started to dance when he was 21 years old and never stopped until the day he died. He had quite the life and to make a long story short, he ended up in Idaho with a ballet studio. He is the reason I love ballet so much.  He believed in me, and taught me everything from first position to full length ballets to lessons on life.

I remember being about 12 years old when he first asked "Where's the Beef". I, not being familiar with the phrase and not knowing where it came from, had no idea what he meant.  In his thick Romanian accent, he kept repeating it over and over after our ron de jambe combination. He kept saying it over the years, and I realized what it meant finally.  He wanted to see the meaning and the emotion behind every step, he wanted to see more precision, joy, and technique.

I have often thought about this saying throughout my life, not only with ballet, but as I go through stages in my life. Wheres the beef? Whats the meaning of my life. How am I living (or dancing through) life? Too many times I am wishing for time to pass quickly, for events to occur so I can be happy. Am I enjoying the journey? Remember this talk by President Monson? Well I often think about this talk and wonder if I am doing everything I can to enjoy the journey. Sometimes I will admit that I am not enjoying it (especially when I have 3 tests+ in 2 days), but I have pledged to myself to make it as bearable as I possibly can, to enjoy and be happy. I can change the way I look at trails, I can choose to be happy, I can change my attitude. So I will continue to ask myself...where's the beef?


p.s. I am not dead...I promise I will start to blog again.