My Story
You may think that this is a joke. In fact, I am exceedingly aware of how ridiculous it sounds. Still, I've decided to turn a blind eye to your incredulity and pursue my life-long dream all the same.
I'll start from the very beginning, or as far back as my relevant memories go. I was eleven years-old and the 1996 U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team received their gold medals with Kerry Strug's lame ass in tow. From that moment, I knew where my destiny lay: to become a freakishly athletic, growth-stumped, steroid-pumped gymnast with the broadest shoulders that anyone had ever laid eyes on. I started taking classes twice a week at the local YMCA. Everything was going just as I had planned until the day I advanced to the level in which back handsprings were taught. I was overcome with a debilitating fear that ultimately resulted in the abandonment of my gold medal dreams.
Two years later, at the impressionable age of thirteen, I decided to pursue another dream. I joined my high school's color guard and remained an avid member of some performing group for the next nine years. In fact, last August, I retired my flag, rifle, and sabre upon the Rose Bowl field in Pasadena: the site of the Blue Devils' first-place victory at the Drum and Bugle Corps World Championships. Yes, it's true, I eventually walked away from something with a gold medal around my neck. It was thrilling and long-awaited and dreamily reminiscing about it never fails to send me into a teary-eyed nostalgia.
Unfortunately, those days are over. Turning twenty-two, I could no longer qualify for the activity and was forced to turn my interests elsewhere. I was crushed.
And then I watched Cirque du Soleil - Kooza. Absolutely inspiring. As someone who has participated in color guard for nearly ten years, I am perfectly accustomed to performing incredibly bizarre and from the perspective of most, largely unfamiliar activities. Joining the circus is the next logical step.
But before I get to that point, I must learn the trade. The San Francisco Circus Center provides classes year-round in a number of circus fields. As I am a sucker for thrills and since my hair has grown long enough to blow in the wind, I've decided that I'd like to start with the trapeze.
So here's where you come in. Please help.
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