Incorporate Your Childhood Hobbies Into Your Adult Life
- Whitney Wisdom
- 9 minutes ago
- 5 min read
A lot of people make New Year’s resolutions. But most people don’t make it an entire calendar year still living out their goals they set last January. Things change. There are conditions, conflicts, and life gets in the way.
This is a fashion blog, I am not here to lecture on SMART goals (Don’t worry!) but, I’d be remiss to not point out that goal setting is a hot 2026 trend. More than ever, you will see vision board parties and bingo cards with personalized goals. And it's fun for the day, week, or month but, in 2025 I discovered the secret to sticking to a New Year's resolution all year long. Pick something you love.
Love at First Costume: I challenge you to pick one of your childhood hobbies and incorporate it into your adult life! I decided to go all the way back to the first activity I ever did and most importantly the first one I ever loved: dance. I started dancing in 1999 when I was four years old. A human’s ability to recall memories begins at three so dancing is one of the first things I ever remember doing. I am cloudy on why I originally fell in love with dance, but my best guess is probably the costumes! I discovered my love of fashion through sequins, leotards, and lipstick. And though I never have gotten a say in what I wore on stage, I have always loved that dance gave me a reason to get all jazzed up. No other sport gave me the same opportunity to get dressed up, except for gymnastics or ice skating. Both of which require a tolerance for falling which I never had. When I got older, I was performing 8 numbers in a given show and learned to layer pieces of my costumes in order to quick-change like a Broadway veteran. What a rush!
Fitness Dance: In college and my earlier post-grad years I would pop into dance classes but most of them were fitness based like Zumba with minimal technique work. I realized last year that the very thing I missed most about ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and pointe was the commitment required to be good. This was also the reason (I thought) I took my finale bow the summer before college. To live college life to the fullest with minimal commitments. Going to Barre or Zumba at the gym is super fun and often challenging; however, I was looking for something more. Something with levels where I have to prove I deserve to be in the front line. Something with the opportunity to perform if I can nail certain moves required to get into the recital.
Ballet is Hard: Technically speaking, I am a good dancer. That’s because I am a disciplined person who does well with directions and takes critiques to heart. But wow, how easy it was to forget the constant pressure to be perfect is a key pillar of ballet! I wasn’t thrilled to start ballet again, at least not in the same way I was looking forward to tap, jazz, and lyrical. I think that’s because the studio I grew up at was not as ballet focused as most plus, to do the other three dance styles you had to work or up the ladder. Ballet teachers are notoriously scary! That is one thing that has not changed between dancing as a child v. an adult. I went back and forth on it for all of last January on what type of membership I should get. (Ballet costs extra, of course.) I thought - I am an adult having fun. I don't need to go through someone yelling at me everyday for bent knees. (Sometimes my hobbies battle each other. I’ve always been the most flexible runner and the least flexible dancer.)
The Resolution: This is where the New Year, Better Me aspect kicked in. I like to utilize resolutions as an extra push to help achieve something I already have on my mind. I reminded myself that being a dancer without doing ballet is like trying to find a job without computer skills. The community ballet has provided me in one calendar year alone is like no other. When you have to dance in unison or in opposition - weaving through each other - you have to know each member of the ensemble’s style like it's your own. It is taking all my strength to not sign up for a pointe class which has absolutely destroyed my ankles, feet, and toe nails but is the highest rank of a ballerina. Nothing looks more graceful than pointe. Instead in 2026 I’d like to get more involved in the tap program and venture outside of my comfort zone by trying a hip hop class.
I have loved reconnecting with dance the same way I did as a kid and a teen and my only regret is not returning to it sooner in our “post covid” world. One year later, I have to remind myself this was a New Year's resolution because it's not just become a part of my weekly routine. That to me, is the true essence of achieving a goal!
My Performances: Just five months in, I was selected to perform two routines for my new studio, Philly Dance Fitness’ 15th anniversary celebration. Diva Pop - a new style of dance for me where I can let loose and shake it in a way that I probably wouldn't have had the confidence for back in the day; and jazz - my bread and butter. In July we had a traditional dance recital where I did 4 routines - the most out of anyone in the show. It was so exciting to light up the stage again for my mom, brother, and grandparents who have never missed a performance of mine and to show off for the first time to my husband and in-laws. My fan club is growing! In December I opened for my first burlesque show (I did jazz.) and my first ever Christmas show which leads me to believe I am one step closer to being a Rockette! In October, Taylor Swift’s “The Life of A Showgirl” album came out which was more relatable than ever!
Let’s stop the narrative that adults are just taxi drivers shuffling their kids from one activity to the next and instead, let’s sign up for classes ourselves! Having goals and having dreams isn’t selfish, it's exciting and it's never too late!
If anyone wants the info for the dance classes I go to let me know. It is mostly women in their 20s-40s but it's truly all ages - which is the coolest part!*
Comments