Happy holidays! This month’s Pole Dancing Bloggers Association Blog Hop is Best of 2013. As the year comes to a close and a fresh start to the next is approaching, I’d like to wrap up my 2013…with a cherry on top. So, what did I get up to this pole year?

BIRTH OF HEARTNPOLE

This is obviously going to be my first point! I started this blog in July 2013 to document my pole life. Initially, I was shy to publicise it. But then, if not now, then when? The rest is (still short) history. I’m looking forward to growing heartnpole in the upcoming year! Got lots of ideas!

Over the months, I’ve connected with many pole bloggers online. This was made possible by the Pole Dancing Bloggers Association – a group of like-minded wonderful people who I cannot be grateful for enough. I’ve also made friends with more international pole dancers and got to know them on a more personal level. By starting my blog, I’m hoping to interact and share with more pole dancers around the world!

POLE-LEPRECHAUN FOR A DAY

Earlier this year, Guinness held a photo contest. The prize was an all-expenses paid trip to the Guinness brewery in Dublin, Ireland! Of course, being a Guinness fan, I JUST HAD TO TAKE PART. I decided to do something different and married my love for pole and love for Guinness. Check out what transpired below:

And no, I didn’t win. 😦 But I remember cutting short my St. Patrick’s day celebration at one of the best Irish drinking holes in Singapore to come home and prepare for this ‘photo shoot’. My sister, bless her soul, grudgingly but patiently took a million photos as I arranged myself on the pole without dropping the glass. Well, there’s a funny story to tell my kids in future!

EARNED MY BIG GIRL PANTIES WITH SYDNEYNPOLE

I booked a return ticket to Sydney earlier this year on a whim to visit pole dancing studios. This is my first solo trip and my objective was to experience pole dancing overseas. I went on the trip of my life and will definitely be doing the same for other studios in other countries. There are so many things a girl can learn from travelling alone and though it may have been a short trip, I think I’ve grown quite a bit from it.

TOOK HOME A CHAMPION TROPHY…FINALLY

I took part in my studio’s in-house pole competition in August and I was happy to be awarded Champion. I’ve taken part in several competitions before but this was my proudest pole moment. Some people ask me why I want to compete, and I tell them I like to challenge myself. Sometimes I think I like the stress because I perform a gazillion times better under it. It gives me something to work towards to and I did just that for this competition. And, no slips, that’s a first!

POLE CLEANING BUNNY SINCE 2013

If you’re on my personal Facebook or my heartnpole page, you may have seen my photo album on the recent International Pole Championship 2013 here in Singapore. I was involved as a pole cleaner and it’s one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I realised pole cleaning during a competition is extremely important! So important that the importance of it REALLY stressed my fellow pole cleaners and I out. We had to make sure every inch of the poles were clean in one minute. And we all know removing iTac from the pole is not the easiest job.

GOT HOPELESSLY STARSTRUCK

This has got to be one of the best things that has ever happened to me in 2013. I got to meet the world champions at IPC! Believe me, I was starstruck. Can you imagine being in the same room as all the world champions? I have to admit, I really need to find a way to contain my excitement and not appear too much of a fangirl. But I really can’t help it!

I was explaining to my friends that meeting these pole dancers is like the following: meeting the All Blacks if you’re a rugby fan, meeting Manchester United if you’re a fan of theirs, meeting the Pope (I would think this is pretty big), meeting Justin Bieber if you’re a Belieber, meeting Oprah, etc. I think you get it.

I think everyone knows that my favourite pole idol is Marion Crampe, and I met her! She’s the sweetest and a really wonderful instructor.

I have so much more to say about IPC but I shall leave the photos and experience to the next post. 🙂

TAKING THE NEXT STEP IN MY POLE LIFE

4th May 2013: This marks my second pole anniversary.

I finished the syllabus at my dance studio sometime in the middle of this year. So I took the next step that I thought was best for myself – I started training as an Instructor. At this point, I have not started my own classes yet, but am still learning the ropes from my fellow instructors at Groove. I have sooo much to learn! 🙂

I also considered going for the IPDFA Instructor Certification Course but I thought about the huge hole in my pocket and decided to postpone this to the following year or two.

POLE AND FLEXIBILITY GOALS

Over the months, I have made myself stronger, fitter and more flexible. Everyday, I’m working on being a better version of myself physically for pole. When I first started pole 2 years 7 months ago, I was the most inflexible being ever. Hell, I could barely even reach and touch my toes.

This year, I put my focus on becoming more flexible. I told myself that I want to be able to do all those pretty flexy moves. So I set myself to work. I stretched 2-3 times a week and in a few months, I was able to get a passable split. I think I was already working on it from the beginning during pole lessons but my training became more intensive this year. By sometime in the first half of the year I was happy I could somewhat get into a split.

So last night, I found out I could bend the back leg at a (more or less) right angle in a front split! It’s a small victory but it means alot to me. My hips still aren’t square for the split, argh, but baby steps…baby steps. Practice, patience and practice!

I also picked up Pilates to really work my core. I’ve only been to a few sessions and I can already feel the difference!

AND…THE CHERRY ON TOP!

I left this to the last as this was a really unexpected thing that has happened to me this year. It really topped my year off nicely, bringing my 2013 pole life to a great end with promises of an even greater one in 2014.

When I started my blog, I wanted to share my pole experiences. I wanted to document my progress and make sure I can track back if I ever need to in future. I also wanted a space to voice my opinions. Over its short existence so far, it has brought me much support and love from my friends, other pole dancers and non-pole dancers.

What I didn’t expect was this: some friends telling me with their own stories that I’m an inspiration to them, pole dancers and non-pole dancers alike.

I’m just an average girl pursuing her dreams so I’m really humbled by your kind words. Thank you for believing in me. 🙂

This post is written for the December Pole Dance Blog Hop, a monthly blogging event that unites the global network of independent Pole Dance Bloggers around a common theme. The goal is for each participant to write about the group topic with their own unique perspective. To read other December Blog Hop entries, click here!