Change
by Paula Grahmann
Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better. --King Whitney Jr.
June 2007
Change is a constant in life. Without change, living would be just plain boring. Periods of change are followed by periods of adjustment, followed – finally – by periods of peace. I’ve had a lot of changes in my life in the last year, and so has Chicago Dance Supply (CDS). We’ve weathered some big storms in our four year existence including our most recent move. Only now are we just starting to slip slowly from change, to adjustment, to peace.
I am a recent college graduate. Well, actually, it’s been a whole year since I graduated. Since then, I’ve moved to Chicago, set up house and home in a little studio all my own, found two jobs to keep the fridge in that little studio well-stocked, and even landed a great dance gig as a trainee with the Joel Hall Dancers. I’ve had to learn to live in a new place, without the support of family and friends, without the financial security of being a dependant, without anyone telling me what to do or how to do it. I had no idea life would take me to the place I’m at now, and I have even less idea where it will take me next.
Since I arrived at CDS, we’ve gone through a lot of personnel changes as well. More often then not, new ambitions and shifting priorities force us to reevaluate and revise our original plans.
Yet change isn’t always negative. Sure, smaller spaces, new places, and new people are hard to get used to. But in my life, I get the joy of studying with a great dance company, the peace and solitude of living alone and the empowerment of deciding things on my own. CDS got a great sunny view with the new space, along with custom-made fixtures (thanks Mike) and an adorable "Tutu Room".
As we move from change to adjustment here at CDS, we look forward to the period of peace we know is coming. Already we have come to know this space as our new home. We’ll find a great way to organize the racks to maximize space. Customers will get used to the new entrance. I, on the other hand, will learn to live without cable and how to not sleep through my stop during rush hour on the "L". We’ll settle into our moment of peace just in time to deal with a new period of change.
We would get bored if things never changed again.
Paula Grahmann lives to dance and dances to live. More on Paula:
Premiering: Kim Sturm and Paula Grahmann at Chicago Dance Supply (October 2006)
A New Chapter (February 2008)
CDS Gazette Archives
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