It is hard to read I Once Was Miss America without relating to it in one way or another. You may feel a strong connection between yourself and Jessica or Elizabeth Wakefield, or even Roxane Gay herself; personally, I can relate to Roxane Gay (and not just because I was almost named Roxane). The way she used the Sweet Valley High series to escape from reality is something we all have done at some point. Gay said, “inside books I could get away from the impossible things I had to deal with.” Ever since I was in elementary school, dance has been my escape; if I was having a rough day at school or home, I would go outside and dance like no one was watching. The older I get, the better I am becoming at choosing not to escape from reality, but rather learn how to push through it. The same way that Gay used books to get through school and hard times in life, I use dance. Whether through improvisation or choreography, I can always find a way to express myself.
Similar to how she looks back on the books and says she is “reading garbage” I, too, feel the same way sometimes when I look at old dances I used to do; the more skilled we become, the wiser we become. Just as Gay still reads books, I still dance- it is just much more complex than it was in the past.
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