Dear Carolyn: Until last year, I was a professional ballet dancer. Dancing is all I ever wanted to do and I trained nonstop since I was 6. I got into a great program and as soon as I graduated, I was one of the lucky few who got a job onstage.
Last year, I fell — not while dancing — and badly fractured my leg. There were complications and it was a long, slow battle. I’m finally better, and it looks like I’ll dance again, but doctors have said I will not have the stamina to dance professionally, not now, probably not ever.
I’m devastated. I don’t know who I am if I’m not a dancer. People keep suggesting I can teach, but I don’t have the temperament and don’t really like children and don’t have the experience or reputation to draw older students. I need to figure out what to do with my life, but I just want to curl up and cry.