Proud.

I'm sitting in the living room watching the Great British Bake Off and marking a past paper at the same time. Derry 2011, I gave myself 96%. My average this year is 95.36%. But that's not why I'm proud, I'm proud of it, but that's not the reason for the post.

I was flicking through the book looking for the answers, and I found each page automatically. As I checked my answer to the Sweets of May and I lilted the tune aloud.

And I thought, bloody hell. When I started this blog, a million moons ago, I knew nothing. I knew the Walls of Limerick and I knew what the word feis meant. Honestly, that's how far I feel like I've come. I'd danced in championships, I could recite trivia, but I didn't really know much about dancing. Ever since then I've been watching, constantly. Always looking, watching, evaluating, thinking. I see dancing in a totally different way now, I'm a different dancer and a different person.

I can't believe I've learned this entire book. It's less than 80 pages, big deal I guess - but it is a big deal for me. I just can't believe I've done it. I know I know the book whether I pass or not, and that was the whole point of trying to pass this exam for me. I wanted to learn the ceilis and the trad sets because I never had, and I felt I should. I felt I couldn't be a real Irish dancer unless I knew these crucial things, these things that keep us rooted in the past while we chase the future in our solo dancing. The basis of Irish dancing, our history, the classics.

I guess I'll have that to fall back on if I don't pass. I only ever really wanted to learn these things out of respect for this art form, and now that I've done that, everything else is a bonus.

Congratulations to everyone that passed today, particularly "AinetheDragon" slash "Aine'sTRTO". She knows the online me but not the real me, and I always find her posts interesting and insightful. Well done her.