hi alishia, I liked your other post about your mom too, but it was too scary for me to answer. these posts give me more insight, namely that it is okay for me to say: why do you have to tell her anything? i'm not explaining anything anymore, she can't understand. i've always thought, why am I casting my pearls before swine? hard to think of your mother that way. it IS normal to want a healthy reponse from her - that doesn't mean you're going to get it. "taking responsibility" for your actions now means doing what YOU want to do, without her approval or help, which is very scary.

what you said about in this post though, makes me think that dancing has become a natural part of you, not something you do, but something you ARE. That's why you don't feel separate from it. it's a good thing, not a bad thing, I guess, depending on how you look at it. after seven years, 10,000 hours of practice, you become a master, according to the old rules. dance may be different, but there probably is some similar turning point.