Committing

It's winter...

I'm tired from shoveling, aren't you?

Funny that I should title this "Committing" as I did not post a blog entry last month. But, it was a shorter month than usual, so I'm not too late, right?

The month of February has been one where I feel as though I've been jumping over hurdles. My PC laptop crashed three times. My cat has asthma (yes, cats can get asthma). And, so much snow. Seriously so much snow. So, a few costly trips to the computer repair company, a really expensive cat X-ray, and a few days of shoveling later, I've recovered both my computer and my budget enough to write a post. 

And that's why I've decided to remind myself to make March about commitment. As rehearsals continue at Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theater for our April production, and thoughts of summer productions loom in the near distance, I remind myself not to let the goals I had set for myself in the beginning of the year slip away. 

The one goal highlighted in my day planner as top priority was creating a dance reel for myself, for future project applications. In the past, I've struggled to keep track of all of my production's videos, and so this year I searched through my files and begged my colleagues for copies. Gratefully, I've gathered enough materials and have finally started to put together this reel. 

I think that more than being able to use this reel for future purposes, my assigning myself this project was to get over my own fear of videos and editing. In the past, I've lost videos. Videos have failed to be recorded of my performances. I've edited videos for projects that don't get accepted. I forget to ask people to record me for performances. And if I do, somehow, they don't get recorded. Sometimes, I've felt like I have a bit of a curse when it comes to performance videos. 

But, this year, I'm breaking the curse and making it happen. I don't really believe in that curse, and I think that with practice I can begin to use my dance footage to my advantage. Even if my computer breaks down again and again, I'm backing up my footage and saving my files. I might not be tech-savvy, but I know who to go to for help, and I'll ask for it if I need it. It's a commitment to myself, to my work, and to my art. 

What have you committed to this year? Are you keeping any commitments, or need a reminder or an accountability buddy to keep them? How do you re-commit to yourself, even when there are hurdles to jump over?