Happy 15th Birthday, Savannah Rose!

Dear Savannah,

This absolutely cannot be true……do I really have a 15 year old child? I can’t believe it! Happy Birthday, Savannah Rose! Here are some things I would like to remember about you when you turned 15 years old and some things that you might like to know about your 15 year old self.

Your passion is dance. You spend all of your spare time training in all styles of dance in downtown Chicago. You absolutely love your studio, teachers and fellow artists. It’s your home away from home.
You started high school this year and are a freshman. You wanted to be homeschooled to focus even more on dance, but I think you’re glad that you went to high school.
You are getting amazing grades and staying on top of all your work. I’m impressed by how you balance it all so well. You are taking many honors and accelerated classes.
You don’t have much time for school activities, but you did manage to fit in one……DECA. The high school business club. You went to the competition and thought it was really fun. I think you’ll do it again next year.
You love a good list. You write lists for just about everything……things that need to be done, packing lists, etc. You love to be able to check things off and you feel better if you get everything on a list so you don’t forget anything. I think this is great because you have SO much going on that there is no way you could keep everything straight without a list!
You still share a room with your sister, Matilda. You don’t really like it, but it is what it is so you guys tolerate each other.
This summer you got into the Hubbard Street Dance Summer Intensive in Chicago. You are so excited to get to participate in this 3 weeks of dance this summer. When you auditioned, you didn’t think you’d be accepted, but you were and we are so proud of you!
You are still doing quite a bit of modeling. You call it your side hustle! You will be modeling this summer at Pas de Deux Photo and Click Con. You are excited to participate in both these events again this year!
This year you were selected as a Ballet Rosa Brand Ambassador. Ballet Rosa sends you boxes filled with dancewear in exchange for you sharing photos of you wearing their leotards, skirts, etc. on social media. You were very honored that a big brand selected you for this opportunity this year.
You still don’t keep a very clean room. It’s still surprising to me how messy you are in your own personal space, but are so organized in every other aspect of your life. I guess you just save the mess for home.
You are such a hard worker in everything you do. I don’t have to tell you to work on homework, study, work on dance, stretch or anything. You plan time (in what very little spare time you have) to fit everything in. If you are not in the studio dancing, you make sure you are in the basement practicing solos and group dances on your nights off. You are extremely disciplined.
Some of your favorite foods include Broccoli Cheese Soup from Panera, Fettucine Alfredo with Shrimp, Avocado Toast with Everything Bagel Seasoning, Perfect Bars, Slyce Coal Fired Pizza, Iced Mocha Latte’s from Dunkin Donuts and Salt and Vinegar Chips.
You have developed a slight obsession with Nike shoes. You are acquiring quite the collection. And you get really mad if anyone steps on them.
You love make-up! You love watching make-up tutorials and do an amazing job on your own make-up. Your skin always looks flawless.
You love naps. You are SO busy, but when you have a few hours, you love to cozy up in your bed and fall asleep.
You got to go to LA this last year with your dance teachers and take classes at Millennium Dance Complex, Project 21, the Playground and compete at Radix Anaheim. That was a great experience for you!
We spend a lot of time in the car together driving to and from the city. I enjoy this alone time with you and we have fun conversations. I love hearing about school, who has a crush on who, what happened at dance, etc. Even though these are long drives, I wouldn’t trade this special time you.
You are still obsessed with your hair. It has to be done perfectly for dance or you aren’t happy. But……I don’t do your hair like I did when you were younger, so it doesn’t bother me! You have gorgeous, naturally wavy long hair.
You know A LOT of people at school and have so many friends, but you don’t really hang out with anyone outside of school. Maybe that will change as you get older, but for now, you don’t care…..you’d rather be at dance.
Your dream job right now is to be part of a professional contemporary dance company. Hubbard Street Chicago would be your dream company, but you are open to other options. You just want to get to dance for a living!

Savannah Rose, I don’t know how we got so lucky to have you as our daughter. You are kind, smart, funny, talented, hard working, disciplined, organized and just an absolutely wonderful daughter! You are growing up so fast and I hate thinking about the fact that I only have 3.5 years left with you. Thank you for bringing such joy to our family! Happy birthday sweet girl!