by ERIN CONCANNON, Feis America Magazine contributor

Irish dancing is a way of life, whether you like it or not. Once you start, you can’t help but keep on going in this crazy dancing world. Outsiders may look at you like you have two heads whenever you tell them you just lost your big toenail, or that you have been diagnosed with tendinitis in your ankles or knees, yet you keep going to dance class every week.

Unless you are like many of us dancers and are addicted to Irish dancing, you wouldn’t understand or even comprehend what a daily dance class is like. You could have had the toughest school day imaginable, and the second you walk into dance class, you start feeling like a new person, forgetting about your troubles or test stress.

If you are an Irish dancer, your daily life consists of dancing in the hallways of school…and not even realizing you are dancing until people stop and look at you confused. You oftentimes find yourself in homeroom or math class thinking about that new step you just learned last night, completely forgetting the fact that you are suppose to be learning geometry or a new formula at that moment.

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If you’re an Irish dancer, you find yourself tapping out your steps in class, causing requests from the person next to stop making noise because they are trying to learn.

It is a difficult thing to not incorporate dance into your studying habit. I know that I find it easier to study in dance class listening to the Irish music, then going home and studying in my room in silence. Irish dance is not just an addiction, but a lifestyle that consumes your every thought. You might try and play down this amazing sport to your friends, just to seem like it’s “no big deal,” but the reality is, dancing is your everything. And without it, a huge part of you would be missing.

Does Irish dance help you escape school stress? Share in the comments below.