Growing up... Fashion mistakes with a hint of finding yourself

As a teenager, I was a little weird. Well, I was really weird. I wore some of the most ridiculous outfits and did some pretty outrageous shit. Most of these shenanigans I regret, actually I regret 99% of it. I wanted to be a dancer on Broadway or a Britney Spear's back up dancer. Thank god none of the above happened. I taught dance for 13 years and became an exercise physiologist. During my youth I explored my "creative side", (That's putting it mildly) and in my adulthood I'm exploring my athletic side. I shopped at this store throughout my teenage years and they provided some of the craziest of outfits. When this popped into my email, because I've had the same email since I was about 15, it made me reminiscent of the kind of good old days.
As a kid I was always active even though I was bigger. I took dance at a local school and played various sports. I was always a good dancer but I kind of sucked at the rest. When I got to high school I played Field Hockey. We would have to run about 3 miles. I sucked and my coach let me know. The doctor's claimed I had asthma, what I had was out of shape syndrome. After that failed I became a cheerleader. I wasn't very good at that either but I loved the girls and sometimes that's way more important. I was also president of my class but that story is WAY too embarrassing to talk about. The only comment I'll make on that was what the f*%k was I thinking! I continued dance all through my school years and eventually became a dance teacher. I was actually half decent at this. Trust me that's gone as well.
My taste in clothes has clearly changed. I still love to be a little fashion forward but not over the top crazy. I no longer dye my hair pink or wear shirts with tigers and stars on it. My running clothes are all neon and bright but that's more for survival than fashion. No one wants to be run over, trust me it's happened and it sucks! When I started running I believed it would be like in school, I could maybe suffer through a 5k but I never thought I would be a marathoner. Yet here I am, training for my fourth. If you had told my fifteen year old self that this is who I would be at 31, I would have probably cried and thought that is awful. What I would tell her now is to not try so hard and just be you. I would also tell her to stop smoking and drinking and take off that crazy outfit but that's neither here nor there.
We all grow up, which actually feels amazing. Some people reminisce about the good old days. They miss the times when there parents paid for everything and there were no cares except for what they wore to school. Personally I would never want to be that age again. To have your parents as friends and support and to have your own life is lovely. Going to Paris was a dream as a kid and now will be a reality in 114 days. To find yourself running and live your dreams as you want. I never in a million years believed this is the blog I would have, of course blogs weren't really the thing. I used to be a nut ball dancer now I'm a runner. Nothing wrong with that... 114 days until Paris!!