Misty Copeland

But the reason that I've fallen in love with dance is this consistency of being in a studio and feeling this sense of protection without the outside noise. And that's been missing from my life over the course of these five years that I've been away from dance.

So it's nice to be back in this kind of protective bubble where you can just focus on what you're not looking at a phone, you're just listening to music and you're moving your body. And there's something that feels so necessary, like to have that in my life.

So it's nice to be back in this kind of protective bubble where you can just focus on what you're not looking at a phone, you're just listening to music and you're moving your body. And there's something that feels so necessary, like to have that in my life.

benefited your dancing absolutely i mean that's the thing i think that especially every ballerina experiences you know the older you get the less you can do physically but the more life experiences you have to pull from and so there's something so beautiful about ballerinas as they age and so that part's really exciting again i get into the studio and i'm like i'm I don't care how high my leg is.

benefited your dancing absolutely i mean that's the thing i think that especially every ballerina experiences you know the older you get the less you can do physically but the more life experiences you have to pull from and so there's something so beautiful about ballerinas as they age and so that part's really exciting again i get into the studio and i'm like i'm I don't care how high my leg is.

You know, I don't care how high I'm jumping. I have just like a different purpose. You know, it's not about, you know, oh, today I didn't do as many pirouettes or I wasn't on my leg. I wasn't on balance. You know, all of these other things that are like a distraction, I think.

You know, I don't care how high I'm jumping. I have just like a different purpose. You know, it's not about, you know, oh, today I didn't do as many pirouettes or I wasn't on my leg. I wasn't on balance. You know, all of these other things that are like a distraction, I think.

So to me, it's a beautiful thing to be at this point in my career and to be able to have control over what I'm performing that feels really good.

So to me, it's a beautiful thing to be at this point in my career and to be able to have control over what I'm performing that feels really good.

Yes, I do.

Yes, I do.

I have it in my bag over there.

I have it in my bag over there.

You can open it and dig through. I don't know what's in there. You can unzip it and just, yeah. Yeah, I started journaling probably around the same time that I started at the Boys and Girls Club when I was seven years old. And this one, there's not much in it, but it was around the time that I was pregnant with my son Jackson and then right after I gave birth to him that I was going to share.

You can open it and dig through. I don't know what's in there. You can unzip it and just, yeah. Yeah, I started journaling probably around the same time that I started at the Boys and Girls Club when I was seven years old. And this one, there's not much in it, but it was around the time that I was pregnant with my son Jackson and then right after I gave birth to him that I was going to share.

April 12th of 2022. And Jackson was born April 2nd. So it's 70 degrees and beautiful outside. The windows are open and there's a breeze moving through the house. My baby is asleep beside me, his chest rising and falling so gently. It's like watching a little miracle. Linda, who's my mother-in-law. Linda's in the kitchen cooking and the entire place smells like love. Olu, who's my husband.

April 12th of 2022. And Jackson was born April 2nd. So it's 70 degrees and beautiful outside. The windows are open and there's a breeze moving through the house. My baby is asleep beside me, his chest rising and falling so gently. It's like watching a little miracle. Linda, who's my mother-in-law. Linda's in the kitchen cooking and the entire place smells like love. Olu, who's my husband.

Olu's in the shower and for a moment everything feels still and full. I can't believe he's ours. He's so small and so vulnerable and yet so powerful in how he's changed me. The love I feel for him is overwhelming. It's deep, pure, and bigger than anything I've ever known. I've spent so much of my life in motion, chasing perfection, discipline, and control. But this, this is different.

Olu's in the shower and for a moment everything feels still and full. I can't believe he's ours. He's so small and so vulnerable and yet so powerful in how he's changed me. The love I feel for him is overwhelming. It's deep, pure, and bigger than anything I've ever known. I've spent so much of my life in motion, chasing perfection, discipline, and control. But this, this is different.

It's surrender. It's presence. It's joy.