If you watch the t.v. show Modern Family you’ll remember this scene; Mitchell participates in a flashmob to show his husband,Cam, that he can let loose, but rather than see this as the ‘love letter’ it was meant to be, Cam gets upset, “you cheated on me, Mitchell. You cheated on me with choreography,and that is the worst kind!” It makes me laugh every time I think about it.
Who would’ve thought this one scene would inspire a new adventure in my own life? Right after I watched it I posted the funny quote on my facebook page and got many comments. One comment was from a guy with whom I had gone to high school. He told me that his wife was in a flashmob here in St.Louis and immediately I inquired about joining because I felt so much joy while watching this scene and a few other flashmob videos on youtube. I’m not sure why it made me feel so happy inside, but I knew that I had to participate because I wanted to be a part of making other people feel this joy.
You may not know this about me, but I can be pretty bashful around people I do not know. I hide it well, though, because I force myself to do things out of my comfort zone. This shyness started long before my vitiligo appeared, so I can’t blame that. But I can say that when I don’t bother to put my cover lotion on the white patches, I am even self-conscious around my friends. Funny thing about that is that they always tell me that they don’t even notice it. Ha, why are we so hard on ourselves because our skin is different?
I started attending the flashmob practices the next weekend. It was exciting to do something new, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself while learning the dance steps. Each weekend after that we surprised people with our dance at different events around St.Louis. The first flashmob was at a food court in a local mall and (don’t laugh) I was too scared to walk out and start dancing, so I stayed on the sidelines and watched. What was I scared of? Looking dumb. Instead of focusing on the electric atmosphere we were giving as a whole group, I thought only about how I looked. Note to self: Please remember the world doesn’t revolve around how you look.
The following weekend, I ventured out to our secret location, and again I was apprehensive, but this time I just jumped in. And guess what? It was amazing! Even though the memory is a bit blurry because I was so nervous, in all the photos that were taken, I see myself smiling ear to ear, so I know I was enjoying the hell out of it.
In that moment I didn’t care if I messed up a step, nor did I think about covering my hands to hide the white patches. I was free. And I was completely happy. Yesterday was our last performance for this holiday season and I am hopeful that we will do more next year! Here is the video. I hope that you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed being a part of it, but most of all I hope that it makes you smile 🙂
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByzGkSgLCSg
Do you let vitiligo stop you from enjoying life?
What do you do that is out of your comfort zone?
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