This weekend I spent my days at The Palace Theater watching my daughters dance team from The World Of Dance compete against a number of studios. Let me start by saying that all the studios were amazing to watch and ALL of the kids displayed their passion for dance in fantastic fashion.
Our studio did very well, taking home some of the biggest awards of the weekend. Our kids dances received great scores and we were fortunate enough to win many of the categories that we compete in.
All that aside, my youngest daughter won one of the most important awards of the weekend. It wasn't top score for her solo. It wasn't Junior Miss Startquest, and please DON'T get me wrong, winning either of those is an accomplish that everyone should be proud of. The award my daughter received was for "Competition Kindness" - An award for the kids that the people putting on the competition give to the kids that they see showing "good sportsmanship" if you will.
My daughter wore that medal from the time she had it placed around her neck until she was ready to go to bed. She said to me on the way home "I'm very honored that they chose me for this" and I responded with "You should be" because after all this is what it's all about. My daughter makes it a point to say "good job" to anyone that walks off stage. It doesn't matter which studio they dance for she congratulates them.
To say that her mother and I are proud of her doesn't even scratch the surface. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to know that we are doing a decent job in raising her, but she does most of this all on her own. We have always told her that this is about doing your best and having fun. Sometimes that seems to get forgotten. Clearly, we want her to do well when she's on stage but if she's not having a good time then really, what's the point?
My 10 year old realizes that every kid that walks out on that stage is doing it for one reason, they love to dance. They have a passion for this art and they enjoy showing that off on stage. She knows that each one of them is out there doing the best that they can and she wants them to all realize that there is someone that saw what they did and is inspired by that.
Kindness is something that seems to be something that is getting left behind in this world from time to time. It's nice to see that my youngest has not forgotten it. Supporting someone you don't know, even if it's as simple as a "good job" when they walk off stage, can go a long way with people.
Maybe some adults should give that a try from time to time. Remember that life doesn't revolve around you and what you have going on. We're all on this ride together and we can't succeed without each other. Nobody is more important than anyone else, whether it's on the stage or in life.
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