Teaching ballet in Chengdu, China...

My day at the studio was the best day and thing that has ever happened to me. My heart was so full and this experience really put my life and my worries into perspective: I am so lucky and privileged to have the things I have and the abundant amount of opportunities I have. This taught me and reminded me that most things are not worth worrying about and it’s so important not to dwell on people and experiences that do not give us abundant energy.

When talking to and teaching the kids, I could see this light in their eyes. They were so happy to jump into something they’d never seen or tried before I came, and more importantly, they were resilient, not afraid to make mistakes, and so extremely well behaved.

This is my favorite picture (above) ever because in this moment, I wasn’t aware of any stress or worry; I was so genuinely happy and humbled. One of my favorite conversations was with these kids. They asked me about Santa and Christmas; they asked me if we had Santa and I said yes! I proceeded to ask if they has Santa too and they said no, so they curiously asked what people get for Christmas and I said do you guys know what an iPhone is? Once they said no, I got mine out to show them. I started showing them pictures of my life, friends, family, school and they were all in such awe. They kept saying how they dream to come here. They dream to live a life like I do. These children, so mature, so wise, dream to be where I am, to do the things I get to do.