More Than Just a Smile

Tears welled in my eyes as she smiled, capturing me from the moment she lifted her arm, raising her from the ground as she began to reach. With the music flowing from her, she effortlessly glided across the stage. When she leaped, she stayed suspended in the air as if time did not matter. Her every movement painted her expression- the flow of her arms, the extension of her legs, the feeling on her face. Then, there was the smile, the encouragement that had saved me only moments before.
Every nerve in my body tensed up as I waited for my turn, knowing that I was about to perform as she just did. Even though I had competed before, this was my first solo. I ran through the steps in my head hoping to imprint them in my mind. Pacing back and forth, I impatiently tried not to worry about the future.

Knowing from experience how I felt, she came to my rescue, baring the smile that she knew I needed. She spoke as if the way things turned out did not matter. “Through every leap and turn show them why you are out there, it is not for them, it is for you. The judges can only see what you show them, so even if you stumble along the way, make every move as powerful as you are.” She said just enough.
As I sat barely restraining myself, shaking with anxiety, waiting for the chords that I knew all too well to ring through the room, I remembered her voice. I began swinging through the air from turn to leap, feeling the music expand through me. Soon, I began to lose track of my breath. My chest squeezed my lungs searched for the oxygen they could no longer find. Fear rushed through me as every movement became increasingly harder. I could not meet the music to the end. In that moment of desperation, I glanced up. The strength and inspiration I looked up to shone through the sea of people. I saw her smile. I felt the energy that pushed me through my final leap. As the music faded and I walked off the stage, my cheeks lifted as my teeth forced my lips to curve.
I never knew how much one person could impact who I wanted to be. In my eyes she was the one who flawlessly made everything flow while all the problems seemed to disappear. The friendship we have has taught me that reaching for the sky is the only way to live, that I have to look to what makes me happy, and see the beauty in everything that I do. Her encouragement is indescribable. I would not be the dancer, and person that I am today if it was not for her. The inspiration did not come from some place hidden deep down within her, but from the smile that she has never failed to use.