I remember that after my first Concours for entering the Paris Opera Ballet in which I failed to get accepted by the prestigious company, my parents came to visit me and my sister in Paris for the first time. Of course, the first thing that I wanted to show them is the Palais Garnier. Normally with our student card we could bring friends and family into the Opera for a visit for free. That's exactly what I was trying to do. However, when I showed the staff my card, they replied me in a cold tone that my card has expired. At that moment, I had a very tough feeling as I wasn't sure yet whether I will repeat a year at the school..... "Oh true, I am no longer part of the Paris Opera...."
The next day, I had a meeting with Elizabeth Platel, the director of the Paris Opera school. After that, while I was walking away from the school, I suddenly stopped and looked back. Oh, it was a very emotional moment. All my memories in this school appeared in my mind. I stopped and looked at my school for several minutes. My mind was full of emotions, good and bad memories and nostalgia. "I left, and maybe I will never come back....." This image, this moment, profoundly stays in my mind.
Several days ago, I came back to school for the first time after my second and successful Concours (I repeated a year at the school), I saw the same image. I was shocked, recalling my vision of this same image a year ago. But this time, I smiled. "Oh! Here I am, at the Paris Opera Ballet." ~