The first month

So I have been teaching Zumba for a whole month now. It's been such an exciting time for me, getting my class started. I am thrilled by the progress I see in my class. I tell them how well they are doing, and do you know, they don't believe me? Imagine that. They don't (or can't) see in themselves what I see in them.

*gasp* Remind you of anyone? ME! From three and a half years ago and when Rae pulled me up to the front row. She saw something I couldn't see and at the time I didn't believe her. Holy cow! It's come full circle.

This month of teaching has been full of revelations. That was probably the biggest one. Others include:

- My brain is working just as hard as my body. In any given song, I have to be thinking at least three steps ahead, not just for cuing purposes but for modification purposes. I have to be watching my people, making sure everyone is okay.

- Getting paid to do something you love this much feels amazing! I think that's pretty self explanatory.

- Choreography that I like isn't always great for class. Learning new choreography is fun for me, but some of the things I can do, I can do because I have four years of Zumba experience. Someone with four weeks of experience is going to struggle with those same things. Learning to identify what won't work and figuring out how to modify it so that it's still cool is a work in progress for me. Jae excels at this however, and she gives me solid advice and suggestions; thank goodness for her!

- Building a small class into a big class takes time. I already knew that, but I didn't know that. If that makes sense. I keep reminding myself that it's only been a month. But in the meantime, I already have regulars and they make the small class so worthwhile!

So that's what my month has been like. I'm looking forward to the next one. And now, just for laughs:

Best advice: It's good to take some time to reflect every once in a while. You can see what you've learned, and what still might need a little work.