Fair warning. This post is mostly just fangirl squee.
I don’t watch a lot of TV. First of all, I don’t have a TV. I watch a few shows on Hulu, or I’ll buy a season pass on iTunes. I primarily watch reality TV shows where the contestants must have talent.
The newest season of one of my favorite TV shows has recently started: So You Think You Can Dance.
I’ve watched this show since the beginning. Some seasons work better for me than others. This season may work VERY well for me.
They have brought back some of the All-Stars, that is, former contestants, to coach the new people on the show.
Including one of my most favorite contestants of all time.
CYRUS.
He looks older than he did on the initial shows. I figure he’s still just as amazing as before. Hopefully more, now that he has some more experience under his belt. I really hope he’s been taking a bunch of dance lessons and is going to blow everyone away.
That’s one of the things that I like about this show. Yes, it’s reality TV. Some of it is going to be edited and scripted in such a way that you’ll never know what the truth is. The producers can skew the show however they like.
But on the other hand, it gives some of these kids opportunities that they’ve never had. Cyrus grew up poor. He didn’t have an option of going to college, or paying for dance lessons. He’s completely self-taught. He was one of the top four contestants his season. I hope that he was able to grab the opportunities presented to him with both hands after his season.
There are a couple of key phrases that I associate with Cyrus, that I still remember and use.
One was his response in an interview, when asked about the next round of choreography:
“There’s a whole new level of hard that I ain’t learned yet.”
And I still think about that, how there are new levels of hard that I ain’t learned yet. Or how this summer is a whole new level of hard that I’m just starting to learn.
The other is when Nigel complimented Cyrus on having a student’s mind. Cyrus was hungry to learn new things, excited about the prospect. That’s always stuck with me, the student’s mind, and trying to learn as much as I can. Then apply what I’ve learned. Then learn more. Then apply. But that’s how I’ve always grown.
Some can just sit and meditate and grow wise. Others work and do the same thing. Me, I need both. Do. Be. Do. Be. Dobedobedo.
And on a different note, if you’d like something to SQUEEE about, there’s the SF&F Binge Reader Bundle that’s still going on. 19 novels. Over 100 short stories. Novellas. And things in between. But only for a short season. You’ll find it here:
https://storybundle.com/bundle