Forced Creativity

Nothing to see here. Move along.

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Blog 10: My Video Essay!

I had to heavily chop my essay because it was 12 pages! I timed myself reading it and it exceeded 20 minutes and I know no one will find me entertaining for over 20 minutes!

Enjoy and I have enjoyed being in class with you all!

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Blog 9: My brain refuses to admit when I’m wrong...

I have the hardest time editing my own work. I can read it 20 times and skip over dozens of mistakes because I can’t seem to see them. Having the lovely humans who were in my group go through my essay was perfect! Thank again to the ladies in my group!

Finding and correcting my mistakes was hard but trying to figure out how I wanted to transition my blog into an essay was pure torture! I kept moving stuff, deleting stuff, re-adding the deleted stuff, and doubting every single decision! I finally just read it three times full times, made sure my flow was decent, and printed it to PDF because I was stressing myself beyond my own limits and freaking myself out. 

I finished it and felt good(ish) about it and now I get to freak out until the exact moment that I submit my video essay. Shout out again to my fantastic group members! #MUAH

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Someone actually reported this blog as containing adult content. -_- I appealed and Tumblr restored it but what was the purpose? There is no nudity nor did I say anything inappropriate. 

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Blog 8 - Research Blog 2

I have no real hobbies aside from exercising. The problem with that is that I don’t consider it a hobby but more of a necessity. Taking a step back and realizing that the majority of your family do not exercise and actively choose to be unhealthy is a scary thing but that is exactly what has happened to me. I mean no offense to my family members but all the excuses in the world won’t remove the fact that they all actively choose not to eat right and not to exercise at all. 

I say all of that to explain why I chose to try pole-dancing and why it has been so enjoyable to me. Lifting weights helps me to be stronger and builds my endurance. Swimming and walking on the dreadful treadmill or pedaling the stationary bike are my cardio choices. Yoga allows me more flexibility, relaxation, and time to remind myself why I am here and deters me from making the decision to become a grown-up runaway. 

All of these things have a purpose and sometimes I don’t love any of them because they are not always 100% fun. Pole-dancing is fun. Pole-dancing makes me feel like I’m misbehaving when I don’t drink, don’t smoke, and don’t club like I did when I was younger. 

(Disclaimer: that is clearly not me but check out that muscle tone!)

Being able to see your body change with exercise is so freaking cool! Finding a hobby that is just for me and that my husband or kids can’t infringe on is completely awesome ESPECIALLY when it also happens to be a great way to exercise while working on my self-confidence.

To validate it as a great source of getting fit and having fun, here are so pretty awesome articles that explain some of the benefits:

The Health Benefits of Pole Dancing By Adam Sinicki

The Psychological Benefits of Pole Dance posted by Nature's Pathways

Which Muscles Does Pole Dancing Work? by Eliza Martinez

These articles not only give great info but also give me some solid validation to resume the classes after I graduate and my time frees up a little bit!

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Blog 7 - Booty-Shaking-Break-Down (not the emotional kind, the details kind)

After looking over my blogs, I now realize that I have not removed much mystery from the classes so I decided to do a quick, mostly-personal, blog about the details that go into preparing to get half-naked with strangers.

So, here’s the skinny:

First, you select a studio and a package/a single class. At the studio I attend, the prices are basically $12-15 a class or you can buy packages from Groupon for $30-40 or the classes are 5 for $60, 10 for $70, or 15 for $80. The biggest catch to all of these prices and packages is that the classes must all be used within 30 days of the first class. If you’re like me and possess a life full of stuff, that is difficult. Another issue is that the classes fill up super quickly on the assigned app so you have to join when the calendar is first posted OR add yourself to every Wait List possible. The good thing is that people cancel often so you usually get into about 90% of the classes that you add yourself to the Wait List for. It is a little frustrating that the classes have to be used in a certain time but it is a business and people have to get paid so I accept that. Once my schedule clears up a little, *ahem-After May 3rd/Graduation-ahem*, I will probably try to start doing 2-3 classes a week in addition to going to the gym 6 days a week. 

The next thing you will need to do is decide what to wear! You have options here BUT you have got to show a little skin or you won’t be able to do all the necessary moves with the pole. Here are the shorts I ordered. They are cheap and look cute. I usually wear a sports bra with a tank top over it, you shirt just needs to be sleeveless and removable if you get too hot. Socks are also necessary sometimes so make sure you wear some or bring some! DO NOT WEAR LEGGINGS. You cannot grip the pole with your legs or do the spins properly if you have your legs covered. High-heeled shoes are not required but they make things fun and make the dances look a little better, in my opinion. These are the shoes I ordered recently. The first day I wore them, two other women had the same ones and the common consensus is that these are the best for the price! Dancing shoes are not cheap! So, basically: wear shorts, sports bra, tank-top or loose shirt, and either go barefooted, socked, or with heels. That’s it for apparel! 

Finally, here are just a few tips from my own experience: 1. NO LOTION ANYWHERE! Lotion ruins your whole life in pole-class. I genuinely feel for strippers because no one likes dry skin but lotion doesn’t allow you to grip the pole so you just slip around and nothing works right. 2. Ask for more direction or clarification if needed. Don’t be shy. 3. Take some of the fit classes. They are fun and allow you to get some exercise too.

4. Don’t wear any rings to class. I always remove my real rings for class or the gym and wear my silicon rings but I tried that a few times at pole-class and it did NOT work well. The ring kept catching the pole when I would spin so I wouldn’t bother wearing one at all.  5. Try everything, even if you think you can’t do it. Big girls can climb, small girls can shake their tiny booty-meat, and everyone has learning potential so don’t be scared to fail! Try it and if you can’t do whatever it is, practice or do your best version of it! 6. Expect bruises, scratched, and calluses! I got more calluses in one dang fit class than I have lifting weights over the past five years! Seriously! Wear gloves if you don’t want calluses.

All-in-all, once you get into the classes, things get more comfortable and they are super enjoyable and challenging (in a great way)! I have learned a lot and look forward to each and every class!

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Blog 6: Disclaimer - I Lack Creativity

No, seriously. I don’t do art stuff. I use to make collages when I was a teenager and they looked exactly like what I posted below. I am a very blunt person who happens to be super passionate. I am also a very loving person who acts uber-cavalier. I never intend to offend and I embrace other view-points but I am strong in my well-formed convictions. I was going to make all of the pictures meet and cover the background but I think the organized-mess with the rainbow background was more representative of me. As a result, this colorful array of stuff that makes me....well, me. You have been warned. 

(I was going to include a picture of my humans but chose not for discretionary reasons) 

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Blog 5: Pushing through.

Being a mom is great and magical and all that jazz...until the stomach flu attacks the household and everyone is allowed to be sick and whiny and take days to recover except for the mom. 

I just started taking my tiny human to the daycare at my gym and I am fairly certain that one of the snotty humans there exposed my sheltered human to this lovely 12 hour bug that attacked everyone in out house except the 12 year old male child and the 16 year old male child. I got super sick and was still nursing my son in between running for the bathroom and longing for sleep. My husband was actually in town so that was helpful but I was still harassed by three-fifths of the children and I felt completely awful for days afterwards. Everyone else was allowed to sleep and relax and hide in their rooms but not me, nope. Moving forward...

I was super ill on Monday and had a class on Friday. I was still not 100% and knew that class wasn’t going to be completely enjoyable but I went anyway. I needed some time out of the house. I needed some time to myself. Oddly enough, the moment I arrived at the studio, I started feeling better and was able to still shake my money maker like no one would ever pay me! 

Maybe a little me-time was all I needed to feel completely better! I have found an outlet in these classes and even bought an additional five classes for this blog and for myself. I have found a little more confidence in myself as we are all half-dressed and letting all of our flaws show but enjoying the music and dancing and being immensely feminine. It takes my mind off all my mom-work-school stuff and allows me time that is only for me. 

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Blog 4: Research

I think it’s common knowledge that people have been appreciating the female body through dance for centuries. Most of my friends, male and female, prefer to attend female strip clubs to male ones simply because women possess a special grace, beauty, and innate allure. Female exotic dancing, in present day, is just as popular as other forms throughout history. One example would be belly-dancing, which begin around 3400 BCE (Moe 3). Another form of dancing is burlesque shows which were popularized in America in the 19th century (Hudson 558). Both are forms of dance usually performed by women for someone’s profit. 

If you combine both of those forms of exotic dancing and add a pole, the result is stripping. If you enjoy wearing your clothes and choose not to make any money from it, then you get to call it pole-dancing and you can shake it for free and for fun! Dancing evolution and women looking for a way to get fit, feel sexy, and bond with other women results in pole-dancing studios.

I think everyone admits and acknowledges the taboo that surrounds stripping, but I think people also enjoy indulging in taboo things if society allows the taboo to be considered acceptable due to popular demand. By allowing the everyday woman the opportunity to work the pole for fun and twerk like she’s getting paid for it, it places a sense of beauty and art on pole-dancing and removes the taboo position that dancing with a pole once possessed. To allow a woman who lacks confidence and who is generally insecure with her own body an opportunity to dance like women who men tend to idealize is kind of empowering. Dancing in dim lights with other women just like yourself and to music you don’t always listen to is quite freeing and allows you to release some inhibitions. Forgetting about cellulite, stretchmarks, and general jiggles while popping your booty up sexily and doing body-rolls against a pole allows me, personally, to feel like a sexy woman despite knowing I have five kids and an entire household waiting on me at home.

After my first visit to the studio I attend, Fit and Fancy, I kept wondering about the owner and I had some questions. I actually reached out to the owner, who I had not yet met, and asked if she minded answering a few questions about her studio. Imagine my elation when she said yes!

When did you open Fit and Fancy? June 5, 2017

What was your inspiration? I took my first pole class in early 2013 and wanted to do more than just dance around the pole. I wanted to climb! My first pole experience was good but that specific studio was very limiting plus they overbooked. So I began searching for the perfect studio to teach me all the tricks of the trade. I'd been to almost every studio in Atlanta until I found one with a schedule that suited my interest. I then joined and become a pole addict. Spent 1.5 years learning all I could and building my strength. After completing all the series trick training I could; I become an instructor but soon after discovered that studio wasn't supportive of their students nor respected their new instructors/interns so I and a few others left. I took a break for over a year, then decided to open up my own business down south close to home! 

Do you still teach? Yes, I do

Do you have to have specialized training to teach pole-dancing? Yes, I am Xpert Certified

In your experience, have you noticed a change in some of the attendees as they take more classes? More confidence as the progress or even weight-loss as a result?

OMG! YES! They come in shy and quiet and after a month or so become brand new confident women! It makes me so proud and happy to say we are more than a pole, dance, and fitness studio; we are family! And really care about our students’ overall growth! We have had students say they lost weight and get toned as well, as dancing is another form of fitness just more fun! 

Do most of your instructors have day jobs as well? Yes. All of our instructors have day full-time jobs, that's why our hours are after typical work hours 😊 for the everyday working woman. 

What is your "pole name" and how did you come up with it? My pole name is FANCY and I wrote a whole list of names down that came to mind and send a text out to family and friends saying which name best suits me & BAM!... I became Fancy 😁

Would you prefer I list the interview with your real name or your pole name? 😊 Fancy, please. Lol most of my students don't know my government, as we are a non-government make facility 🤣

 I love how candid and personable “Fancy” was in her responses. All of her instructors are friendly, encouraging, and they represent her business very well! I absolutely agree that pole-dancing brings out a certain confidence in the women based on my own experiences in the class. Many of the women in there start out quiet and shy and by the end of class, these former strangers are giving each other tips on how to best pop their butts for the most jiggle! For a profession which has a history of being taboo and risqué, these classes provide an amazing service to women who aim to exercise in a more entertaining way and to gain confidence by allow their femininity to show through in dim lights and Hip-Hop background music.

 “Fancy”. Personal Interview. 11 February 2019.

Hornby, Richard. “Burlesque.” Hudson Review, vol. 66, no. 3, Sept. 2013, pp. 558–564. 

Moe, Angela M. 2012. "Beyond the Belly: An Appraisal of Middle Eastern Dance (aka Belly Dance) as Leisure." Journal of Leisure Research, 44(2): 2013-33.

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It’s all fun and games until my husband gets back in town and finds out that I’ve been abusing his wife...

Only five bruises (on this leg 😂)

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Blog 3: Back to the basics

When you have as much going on in life as I do, scheduling anything in advance is a great way to set yourself up to fail. In order to take certain classes at the pole studio, you have to take the “Pole Virgins” class. I was supposed to take that class on Saturday at noon but kids ruin everything with their kids stuff so I cancelled my class and went to watch my youngest daughter play at her first varsity soccer game. It was worth if but I has to hope I could get into the full class on Monday evening. Luckily, I got into the class tonight but my twerk partner couldn’t get a sitter or on the list with me so I had to go alone. This also means that I had to take my own pictures and videos so I apologize for the lack of decent shots this week.

My anxiety in taking this class alone is that I am always afraid I am going to be in the class with a bunch of non-mother, perfect-bodied, curvy women in the teens or early twenties. My insecurities would be insane and I would be so nervous that two things would happen: 1 - I wouldn’t try very hard because I wouldn’t be comfortable and 2 - I would enjoy myself because of nerves. The instructors I’ve met so far have been great and very normal women. They are great dancers but they are just normal women, like me. The other women in the class were struggling with the moves and were all very normal women as well. For this insecurity, I blame music videos and strip clubs as they both have given me a false sense of what pole-dancing women should look like. They literally look like me and other normal women with normal women’s bodies.

We learned some turns, how to climb the pole, and a short routine in our hour class. I decided to wear heels this time as they give you more boost and they’re more fun and we all had a great time with how awful we all were in different ways. I couldn’t figure out how to stand up without looking like a 1st grader getting up off their reading carpet in their classroom. One woman couldn’t control how quickly she was twirling around the pole while another woman struggled with her twirl going around even once. Basically, we were all struggling and giggling and not caring that we were all half naked and were just strangers in a class less than an hour before.

The one advantage I tend to have in these classes is that I do go to the gym at least five days a week and I do enjoy yoga almost every day. While I may not be fit or traditionally sexy, I did feel awesome climbing that pole with ease...

[fuckyeahyoga]

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Reposting for my own ignorance.

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Another Class = A New Post...

I have class tonight but things will be different...my partner isn’t going with me. I will be shaking my ASSets with strangers. 

This meme is inaccurate because there will be people beside me but I am being dramatic and this song keeps playing in my head.

Blog coming tonight after class!

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Blog 2: Twerk! Twerk! Twerk!

Class Number One: Twerk It Out!

Walking into a class full of scantily clad women with 8 inch stacked heels can be intimidating to even the most confident woman.

The fun part of this is that I am not a confident woman. I am a mother of five, with the body of a mother of five, who couldn’t keep a tan if it was demanded of me and with the bodily stiffness that only an elderly person coming out of a ten year coma could rival. I don’t possess a lot of “fluff” but I have some interesting jiggle and mommy-marks in places where they simply do not make sense. All of this and the fact that I have lacked rhythm since I stopped clubbing at the ripe old age of 25 years old results in me demanding that my best friend attend every class with me as she is the extrovert to my introvert (at least when it comes to getting half naked and shaking what my mother did NOT give me)! 

With all of the above stated, we had a great time and I did learn some sexy moves!

I actually bought the Groupon for Fit and Fancy Dance Studio in Stockbridge in October but couldn’t muster up the courage to go until this class required me to step outside of my comfort zone. I have to be honest though, I attended one pole-dancing class before but it wasn’t in my city and it was great but I didn’t think I could ever do it again. Taking all five of the classes provided via my Groupon is beyond my normal realm of personal comfort.

The picture above is from months ago and was at the first class I ever took. I ended up bruised and sore but it was so much fun! The music, the other women, the giggles between my best friend and I, and the hilarious videos I brought home to show my husband make these experience all worth it. 

Here’s the rundown of how my first class at Fit and Fancy went:

I arrived early because I am always early for everything or it ruins my experience. My attire is in layers because it’s freezing outside but I know I am about to sweat. I rock a loose and cropped knit shirt, black sweatpants, and tennis shoes on the surface and underneath, I have on my favorite sports bra and a pair of black dancer shorts that I ordered online. I walked into a dimly-lit waiting area with walls of booty shorts and super high heels and was greeted by a lady walking briskly to her desk. She instructed me to fill out the waiver and give her my Groupon voucher. My best friend, Alex, did the same and we sat and chatted in the room with two other women who were waiting on class to start. 

We all walked into a well-lit purple and grey room with 8 poles in the center and mirrors on one wall. The instructor cut on music that I didn’t know well but was familiar with because my teenage daughters and I have VERY different taste and this music was more like their taste than mine. Some song about dripping too hard or something...which I don’t feel relates much to stripping because there isn’t anything sexy about things “dripping” while dancing on a pole or twerking. We went through a few moves with names like “the jiggle” and “hip circles”. Many of my “moves” were very stiff and laughed uncomfortably most of the time but I was enjoying myself. I ended up removing my outer layers of clothing because I was hot (not in a sexy stripper way but in a “I’m hot and hate sweating” way) and can’t really see if I’m moving my booty properly in sweatpants. I was the only one who wasn’t wearing a full outfit but I didn’t care because I was gaining confidence slowly with each twerk upwards. 

We did out very short routines, we all laughed and packed up and we left just as conservative and clothed as we arrived. The class was a success, in my opinion, and I look forward to the other versions of this class that I have already registered for.

My blurry best friend and I both trying to make things jiggle.

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Blog 1: Lifestyles of the Indecisive

Suffering from indecisiveness and procrastination as personality flaws is nothing to joke about and I hope that my fellow bloggers can accept me for who I am despite these challenges. I am hopeful that these things will not be held against me as I plan to provide you with all of my best and valid excuses reasons:

I have five children, I work from home for a car dealership, my other (but not necessarily better) half works out of state a majority of the time, I am a Graduate Research Assistant for the wonderful and amazing Dr. Lamb, I am wrapping up my Masters, and my favorite excuse is that to help me avoid drugs and alcohol to cope with my busy life, I choose to go to the gym and/or exercise five days a week. 

Given my lack of availability to take on any new hobbies or interests, and the fact that I have a Groupon for five pole-dancing classes as well as access to yoga classes through the college, I decided to do this blog on either my newest endeavor of attending yoga classes or on beginning pole-dancing classes. I have both classes this week so I will make a solid decision on my topic after I fall 3-4 times while doing the Wild Thing (Camatkarasana) in yoga and after I work on my twerk on Thursday. Either way, my comfort zone will be shattered by awkward positions and my inhibitions will be set aside.