As a native of the beautiful island of Guam, I had always wanted to learn to dance the hula. My mother, on the other hand, felt that her daughters should be schooled in the arts to include ballet and piano. She felt that island dances and the hula were not important and wouldn't help us become more ladylike or more acceptable in mainstream America.
The hula is a beautiful dance that celebrates island culture and lore using the hands in a dance. I tried once as a young adult to take a lesson but failed because I was afraid my mother would find out. The dream never left me. Once I turned 51 I decided to start living my life for myself. I was single, didn't have any children, had deceased parents and had no one to hold me back. I hired a girl to teach me the hula. I was surprised that I caught on so quickly. The hula requires the most fluid hand gestures and naturalness of movement. I was hooked. It took 3 hours for her to teach me a 5 minute hula. I practiced and practiced and then danced it on the beach in Tumon Guam in front of visiting Air Force servicemen from the Midwest. I then danced for visiting Marines and even danced in the snow in Ligonier Pennsylvania at Thanksgiving. They say 50 is the new 30 and I was every bit 30 on those days... It's never too late to pursue a dream.
