The things I have learned about ballet

Hey Guys!
So I asked you on Instagram what you would like to read about here, so someone mentioned this topic and I thought it could be fun.
First off, I've been doing ballet for almost 5 years now (which is really not a very long time, especially for something like ballet) and most of the time I feel like I still don't know anything but I guess that's one part of ballet, you just never stop learning.
I guess the most important thing ballet teaches you is that you will never be perfect, which is tough to know, because dancers are perfectionist.
We are always striving for that perfection, yet will never achieve it, which is probably what keeps us going because there wouldn't be much motivation left if you did everything perfectly.
Another thing I had to learn the hard way is that there is no certainty in ballet. You might pour all your energy into it but there is no guarantee you will make it. One moment could end it all, all it takes is a fall, sometimes just an awkward landing and there is nothing you can do about. Which makes it all the more improtant to have a life outside of ballet because it could all end in an instance. Yes, you might have your heart set on becoming a professional but nobody can guarantee you that will happen. You might take a bad step in practice tomorrow, break you ankle and miss out on months of practice.  The ballet world is incredibly competitive and every injury can make or break your career.
Also, if you really want to become a professional or are looking to get into a pre-professional school, check out the competition, don't just stick to your studio. Try new things, new teachers, that's how you will really know your level.
Every teacher has their own unique style of teaching and as a student, you adept to that. You will probably reach a point where you can predict the next step in the combination because you know your teacher that well. But if you go to an audition, you won't have your teacher there with you, you might have to do completely different combinations and pick up fast, cause that's what they want to see. Nobody wants to see you mess up and do different steps because you can't pick up the combination. So practice picking up on combinations. You don't even have to go take class somewhere else. Just look for some videos on Youtube, watch some audition tapes  or do Kathryn Morgan's Barre videos. You can even practice by watching variations and simply writing down the steps.
The most important thing I always have to remind myself of though is to just get out of my head and stop overthinking everything! Some people don't have that problem, they just go in and do what their teacher tells them to do and I seriously envy them for it.  I sometimes can't help but overthink every single step I'm taking, which is extremely restricting because it keeps me from getting things faster, especially with jumps.
I don't have a lot of experience with petit allegro, I really only started doing more complex allegros a year ago and I have to keep reminding myself to just go for it and try to get the steps. The ultimate goal for me is to just get through the combination first and maintain correct allignment, the rest will be cleaned later.
I hope you enjoyed this little rant, definitely let me know if you want to read more of those cause I could probably go on forever.
Yours,
Laulie