We were out together as friends. The drinks were flowing the music was cute but disappointing. That was until one in our bunch decided to ask the bartender to change the music.
This was a group of mixed folks. Myself, a Cuban man, A Puerto Rican man, a Guyanese man and woman. The music requested that was played shortly after, was Salsa. Here is my thing with Salsa, I could dance well on my own. I could dance like the only salsero when it was just me, myself, and I. Once I had to be paired with someone and do something like a turn I immediately became self conscious and scared. Would I be the one that stepped on their toes? Accidently kicked their shin? Perhaps fall off step and beat embarrassing myself and my dance partner?
This was the position I was in when that music began to play in the bar. I was grabbed by my friends and ushered to the dance floor. I hesitated and I protested that I did not dance well with others despite my desire to do so. They got me anyways and in good patience and sincerity started dancing with me and showing me how to be turned and how to follow the lead. I shied away so bad I felt the whole room shrink and what felt like an audience of people watching how horrible of a paired dancer I was. I shied away and several times tried to leave my dance partner and friend on dance floor, he strengthened his grip on my waist and hand and said, "Come on. Like you have confidence. Wheres your confidence?"
It was a comfortable moment, I felt safe and vulnerable all at once. I felt inadequate and eager to learn. Most of all I felt lost and shy. I was that awkward child and awkward man I've always been when it came to interaction with others that resulted in me and other men in a close setting.
Where was my confidence?! Why was that not the fucking question of the year, or of my life?
I don't even know what the word means when it pertains to me. I mean, sure I know I do some things well in life that I am confident about by which I can execute well. However, the feeling of confidence overall was not something found in my character or persona. I walked around meek and what I thought was humble most times. This meant saying thank you when complimented but not really believing you were the greatness or the goodness of the compliment. More that the person giving the compliment was just being kind. This meant knowing you are good at something and just not ever thinking you were great, knowledge allowed you to understand you just were not bad at it. This meant that while I knew I was not ugly, I knew I was not beautiful/attractive.
Was the partnering of Salsa too intimate? Was this why I actually could not excel at it or wouldn't allow myself to? Did this spring from my insecurities in which I could not allow myself to be intimate or close to men in a non sexual setting? Was this from my inability to connect to my Puerto Rican identity due to my inability to speak Spanish or knowledge of what appears to be Latin music and or popular culture? WHat made me shy away from this man dancing with me? What made me feel so small? This was nothing he did, this was definitely all me.
I recalled all the times I was rejected and ignored by men I showed interest in. I remembered the times I was told I was friend material and not much else. I remembered the time I was told how lucky I was that I was even touched let alone seen in public with an individual. I was then called fat and ugly. Icing on the cake. I remembered countless times I fell for someone who would be my friend because there was at least a level of closeness there an investment of feelings in each other. Yet I was still friend zoned.
I do not have an answer just yet or a solution other than I know I am in the midst of change in how I see myself and how I think about myself. I hope to one day be able to be embraced in dance and be able to allow myself the comfort of being in the moment instead of the all the past flooding into my mind and causing paralyzing fear.
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