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Running Head: MY BEAUTIFUL, ORDINARY LIFE
My Beautiful, Ordinary Life
Jasmine D. Densmore
University of Montevallo
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MY BEAUTIFUL, ORDINARY LIFE
Abstract
I am Jasmine Desiree’ Densmore, I was born in Birmingham, Alabama on August 21,
1983 to Mildred Densmore and Otis White III. For as long as I can remember I have
always used the word “artist” to define myself. I have been described by others in a
number of ways, some words that are often used to describe me include: bubbly, creative,
friendly, silly, and unique. To me I’m just an ordinary person who loves life, and loves
people. I have always possessed a great passion for visual and performance arts, I can
remember “creating” being one of my favorite hobbies as a child, the only things I
required were paper and a pencil; this would keep me entertained for hours. The feeling
I’ve always gotten from just being able to paint, draw, sculpt, sew, and crochet is
indescribable joy; a feeling that I would never want to lose. I quickly discovered what I
wanted to do for the rest of my life early on and that’s to create and teach people how to
create. The only obstacle that I’ve had to overcome over the years is my extreme shyness
and social anxiety. I had always been interested in learning more about, and participating
in the art of dance, but the dilemma of my social anxiety always prevented me from
undertaking this endeavor. As I grew older, my curiosity of the art of dance became my
obsession and I knew that like the visual arts that I found essential and the reason for my
existence; dance had become an art form that I would grow to delight in. I began to attend
any and all events pertaining to dance and my obsession began to grow. In July of 2005, I
was able to attend a health and wellness fair held at the civic center in Birmingham; this
would be the event to change my life. I was able to observe and admire so many forms of
dance during this health fair but the one that
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MY BEAUTIFUL, ORDINARY LIFE
captured my attention most was the art of belly dance. I was so intrigued and mesmerized
by the sight of the beautiful dancers and their enchanting movements that I became an
instant fanatic. I soon became a devoted student of Aziza’s School of Middle Eastern
Dance. My first year as a dance student was the hardest because I was still striving to
overcome my persisting social anxiety. I have continued taking classes and over the years
I began to learn a great deal about the beauty of Middle Eastern culture from my dance
instructor. Our class consists of Caucasians, African Americans, Lebanese, Arabians, and
Hispanics. After having taken dance classes for so many years, my classmates have
become a part of my extended family and I began to learn more about their culture as
well as them about mine. As a result of taking belly dance classes my respect for other
cultures and people in general has grown tremendously. Throughout the years I’ve
accompanied my dance class to various belly dance events and shows, this makes our
bond and love for one another even stronger. On several occasions, I have attended Latin
dance clubs with some of my Hispanic friends which has exposed me to yet another
culture and dance forms. Also, I have learned that I share the love of visual arts with
some my fellow dancers. Overall, my experience as a belly dancer has been truly
tremendous, it had helped me overcome an obstacle that had hindered me for so many
years, introduced me to many different cultures of people, and fulfilled my aspiration to
become an artist in every sense of the word. I have now become a solo belly dancer;
creating my own dance pieces for performances. Along with my classmates I perform at a
number of events throughout Birmingham and am always elated to perform
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MY BEAUTIFUL ORDINARY LIFE
in our annual belly dance concert. I can always count on other dancers from my class and
my teacher to be there cheering me on and I’m always eager to return the favor. My belly
dance teacher Aziza still often recalls a time when I would find a corner in the back of
her classroom to hide from her gaze, but she always reminds me of how proud she is that
I overcame my fears and became one of her solo dancer. My experience and journey has
taught me that people aren’t very different; there is always something that connects us
even if it’s merely a shared interest. I am still enjoying every moment of the experience
just being able to enjoy the art of dance with so many different cultures of women and
dance together with them as sisters.