+ Best Friend Bye-Byes
In keeping with this month’s Fit +Flaunt Burlesque Fitness theme I want to dedicate this week’s newsletter to the woman who first got me started performing burlesque, my dearest friend, Anja. Anja has inspired me on and offstage in the twelve years we have been friends and the eleven years she and I have lived together as roommates. Today she gets on a plane and begins her new life in Europe.
In the months leading up to Anja’s departure, we've had a lot of time to pour over old photos and keepsakes reminiscing about the experiences that have defined us and our friendship. Burlesque has been one of the central themes to come up time and again. When I asked Anja what was so special about burlesque to her, she replied, “It was our therapy.” We danced to celebrate our joy about being alive. We performed to face our own personal fears and insecurities. In doing this together, we created a team of people who we could be vulnerable enough to express ourselves in front of and who would build us back up every time.
In so many ways Anja’s feelings on burlesque echo the beauty of our friendship and any good relationship-- a place to feel safe enough to show who you truly are. A friend is not judgmental or competitive. It is a person who pushes you to grow into your best self, for reasons no other than their love for you and their wish that you will find peace and happiness in loving yourself.
Anja’s departure from Taiwan today marks a huge change in both of our lives. Change can be terrifying and painful and challenging, and yet, “change is the only constant in life.” In dealing with its inevitable nature, the only thing we can control is our attitude while facing it. I might be tearing up as I write this, but I’m so excited to see what is on the other side of this period of transition for both her and I. And I’m so incredibly grateful.
My dear Anja, thank you for the past twelve years. Thank you for standing by my side, celebrating my every success, helping to heal every heartbreak, supporting my growth each day, and always staying with me for just one more song on the dance floor. You are among the bravest, boldest, most beautiful humans on the planet, and I can’t believe I had the privilege of calling you home for as long as I have. No matter time and distance, as E.E. Cummings wrote, “I carry your heart ( I carry it in my heart).”
For all of my students in Fit +Flaunt Burlesque Fitness and Zumba, my greatest wish is that you will feel accepted, challenged, and supported in your own life journeys each time you are in one of my classes. I know it may sound trite, but in times of change and challenge just knowing we can dance together brings me my ultimate joy. Big love to all of you!
Keep moving!
xx,
Katie
我最好的朋友，再會了！
延續這周舞麗自信（ Fit +Flaunt Burlesque Fitness）的主題，我想把這周的電子報獻給我的摯友安雅 ------ 因為她開啟了我 Burlesque （詼諧歌舞劇）的表演旅程。在過去這 12 年不論台上台下，安雅給了我無數的激勵與啟發，今年也是我們成為室友的第十一年。 今天，她將飛往歐洲，開啟她人生的新篇章。
這過去的一個月，隨著她出發的時間越來越近，我們藉機翻出一堆舊照和紀念品來回憶我們曾一起走過的路，如何造就我們至今深刻的情誼，而 burlesque則是串起這些無數回憶的主題之一。當我問安雅為什麼 burlesque 對她而言如此地別具意義，她回答：「這是我們的心理治療。」我們用跳舞來慶祝生命的喜悅；藉著演出來面對我們各別的恐懼與不安全感，因為 burlesque 我們建立了一個團隊，讓我們可以在彼此面前表現脆弱，互相扶持一次次地從失敗中站起來。
在許多的層面上，安雅對於 burlesque 的感受呼應了我們美好的友情 ，也是任何良好關係所具備的：一個讓你能展現真實自己的避風港、一個不批判也不好勝的朋友、一個因為愛你總是鼓勵你成為更棒的自己的伴侶、一個一心希望你在愛自己的旅途上找到喜悅與平靜的家人。
安雅的離去在我倆生活中都帶來了巨大的改變。改變可以是很可怕、很痛苦、很挑戰的，但是『人生中，唯有改變恆久不變』。面對必然的轉變，我們唯一能做的，就是選擇用怎樣的態度來面對。雖然現在我一邊寫一邊流下不捨的淚，但是我滿心感激、真心期待我倆人生下個篇章的到來。
我親愛的安雅，感謝妳過去 12 年的陪伴，謝謝妳一直以來的支持我：慶祝我每一個成功、幫我療每一道傷痕、支持我的每一個成長、在舞池中的每一個『再跳一支舞』。妳是這世界上最勇敢、最無所畏懼、最美麗的人之一，妳是如此地勇敢、如此地無所畏懼、如此地美麗，我真的很榮幸能在過去的 11 年裡把妳稱作「家」。不論何時何地，如 E·E·卡明斯所說：「我把妳的心帶著（把它放在我的心上）」。
我希望我所有的學生，不論是舞麗自信還是 Zumba 的學生，都可以在我的課堂上感覺到被接受與被挑戰，進而幫助你們面對生活中的各個旅程。我知道這也許有點老套，但是每當我面對不同的改變與挑戰時，只要一想到可以和你們一起跳舞就帶給我無限的喜悅。愛你們！
繼續前進！
愛你的 Katie
( Anna Liang 譯 )
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