She Did It Without Him

For the past two weeks, Nyasia has been preparing for this day. She had practice every day after school from 6pm -7:30pm and two Super Saturday rehearsals from 9am-1pm. This rehearsal includes the marching band and her dance mates who only attend the performing arts program after school and on Saturdays. During this rehearsal, the entire performing arts program and the band practice the routine together. Today is the day. It is one of the most important days of her life. Nyasia spent all her time rehearsing afterschool and out home. She along with her bandmates from The Brooklyn United Marching Band (BU) performed at the Nets vs Knicks halftime show. This was her first time performing at such a large venue. She was excited and scared at the same time. I was thrilled to be there to support her and provide her words of encouragement and comfort during our commute to the venue.

The call time was at 11:30am. I awoke at 7:30am to prepare myself. At 8:30am I begin preparing, checking and rechecking Nyasia's dance bag to ensure all the items she required from the checklist were inside the bag. While she showered, I prepared her clothes to wear to the Barclays Center, in addition to the required all black practice uniform which consists of black leggings, black socks, black BU t-shirt, black BU sweater and black sneakers. Her hair had to be in a 12 or 14-inch ponytail with a middle part that sat low at the nape of the neck and secured tightly with bobby pins or thread.

Nyasia looked amazing Everyone looked and performed amazingly. I am very proud of her as she is one step closer to living and achieving her dream. She eats, sleeps and breathes dance. I love to watch her dance because she leaves everything on the floor. Unfortunately, her dad was not in attendance. He does not believe dance is a career. I could say a lot, but I will not bash him. I will keep those thoughts to myself.

2018 Nets vs Knicks Halftime Show

Today, she did it without him. Although she has not said anything to me, I know it bothers her. As her mom, my heart aches for her. Our children will not always do what we want them to. They will not choose the career path we want for them. Nonetheless, we should never crush our children's dreams. As their parents, we should support him/her no matter the circumstance. If they fall flat on their face, we should be there to pick him/her up and dust them off. Tell your child(ren) that it's going to be okay and that you will be there every step of the way. Don't allow your child(ren) to go through life accomplishing things without you.

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