I Do Not Communicate With Words | Teen Ink

I Do Not Communicate With Words

March 6, 2013
By carolinestarr PLATINUM, Ellicott City, Maryland
carolinestarr PLATINUM, Ellicott City, Maryland
28 articles 2 photos 30 comments

Favorite Quote:
"It's not about who we are, but who we choose to be."


Language is a precious thing in life. It is used to communicate and unite various people and cultures. However, it has an astounding ability to separate. It separates thoughts from actions and spoken words from beliefs. Most importantly, it separates us by our ambitions, dreams, and talents.

Personally, I have a hard time putting my thoughts into spoken words. My sentences rarely make sense, and, most of the time, I just spew out random words until something sounds right. My spoken language is just that- mine. It is a dysfunctional, unorganized, beautiful mess that I have created.

But, that does not mean that I am bad at communicating. I choose other forms to communicate through, such as written word or dance. Dance is how I portray my feelings and thoughts the best. It is a language for people who are just terrible at speaking sentences that actually make sense. My favorite kind of sentence is one that leaps through the air, rolls on the floor, and dances on its toes. I love the ones that start out small and grow with each passing beat of the music until they are so big that they can do nothing but overtake my mind and my heart.

I am so grateful that I am a dancer, because I have this ability to communicate on a much deeper level than the rest of the world. Sure, words are precious. They can make someone laugh or cry, but only if one knows how to use them correctly. Many people, like myself, do not have the gift of0 communication or language. Many of those people have no other means of communication. But, I am lucky, as I do.

I create. My hands are verbs and my feet are nouns. My legs are adjectives and my torso is a basket full of conjunctions. The music is the commas, periods, and semicolons. My sentences look different than everyone else's, but they are still valuable. My sentences tell stories and act as a diary. They comfort those who need it and are a place to put unwanted anger.

I am unlike the majority of people. When I am mad, I do not scream into my pillow or get into a fight. I do not think about all of the awful things I want to say to someone. Instead, I choreograph. I channel my feelings of animosity into movement. I pick a dark song to dance to and choose sharp and choppy steps. Eventually, my anger runs out. Instead of being left with a bunch of wasted time, I am left with a product. I am left with something that I can show to other people, and they will know what I am feeling without hearing a single word from me. All the words that they need are there, in front of them, dancing.

That is what I love the most about choreographing. Being able to express myself through a mere gesture of the hand is what fuels my passion. Choreographing gives me even more freedom to express my feelings, thoughts, and emotions than dancing does. I get to create new dances based upon how I am feeling rather than dancing steps that are based upon someone else's feelings.

I have not yet developed myself as a choreographer. If someone saw a piece of mine, they would not be able to recognize it as mine. I do not yet have idiosyncrasies when it comes to my choreography. However, I am working on it. Just like a person must discover who they truly are, I must discover who I am as a choreographer. When I make that discovery, I will able to develop my own distinct style. Once I find my niche in the choreography world, my language will truly be mine.



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 5 comments.


on Apr. 5 2013 at 1:14 pm
carolinestarr PLATINUM, Ellicott City, Maryland
28 articles 2 photos 30 comments

Favorite Quote:
"It's not about who we are, but who we choose to be."

Thank you so much! :) This piece just felt really natural for me to write. It didn't feel like I was forcing anything, as it ahd felt when I had written other memoirs. (And no, I don't think genuineness is a word. Or is it? Maybe I'm wrong. I did, after all, just write a memoir about how bad I am with words. Haha). Anyway, thank you! 

on Apr. 3 2013 at 9:12 pm
WhenItRains21 GOLD, Magnolia, Texas
12 articles 0 photos 54 comments
Really good. I liked the progression of subjects. The metaphors were great, as well. This piece also has a sense of genuineness (is that a word?) that some memoir-type pieces don't. It has sincerity. Nicely done!

on Mar. 16 2013 at 12:15 am
carolinestarr PLATINUM, Ellicott City, Maryland
28 articles 2 photos 30 comments

Favorite Quote:
"It's not about who we are, but who we choose to be."

Alright, thank you for the advice! I know this isn't really a memoir, but I wasn't sure what to post it under. 

on Mar. 15 2013 at 10:49 pm
theatregirl PLATINUM, Lathrup Village, Michigan
30 articles 12 photos 209 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;To thine own self be true,&quot; -from Hamlet, a play by Shakespeare.<br /> &quot;I have sworn on the altar of god eternal hostility against all forms of tyranny over the mind of man.&quot; - Thomas Jefferson

Good piece, and well written. However, would be nice if u out more example about specific events about u dancing, since a memoir tend to be about people taking specific topic , in your case , dance,and show how effect your life by talking about specific events, Good writing, keep up the good work.

on Mar. 15 2013 at 1:12 am
pulledheartstring, San Jose, California
0 articles 0 photos 54 comments

Favorite Quote:
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. -- Mahatma Gandhi

Ah, I love this, and I wish you luck on your passion. I myself personally cannot put my words together when I'm speaking, but when I write for myself... it just seems to make sense, sometimes.