Turning 30

This week, I turned 30! Exactly a year ago, after long walks on my own along the Seine in Paris during the summer, I set three different goals for myself before turning 30 (which ended up being four). One of them was to find the courage to quit the Paris Opera Ballet. Now, I feel proud to have achieved all the goals I had set for myself! Turning 30 makes me feel that I am finally and undoubtedly an adult, that I am the only captain of my own life, with all the responsibilities but also the freedom that come with it.

One of my motivations for quitting my dancing career was to have more time for my other projects. So far in this new life, however, it doesn’t feel like I have significantly more free time than I would have imagined. After all, I had the feeling that the Opera was taking up at least 80% of my energy and my time. How is it possible that I don’t feel this abundance of free time now, without the Opera? Perhaps discipline and routine actually help make time, by killing procrastination and wasted hours. I’d better build myself a well-defined weekly schedule and stick to it.

I am writing this post in front of a beautiful city view, from my hotel room in Lyon. So I’ll be skipping my weekly ballet class, maybe I’ll try to find one to take during the week instead!

By the way, Etihad Airways published the video dedicated to my story in their latest campaign, Beyond Borders. Here it is: