Monday night of dead week and the weight of the world was already on my shoulders. Suffocated, stressed, and everything felt like it was going wrong. So, like I always do when I’m sad and stressed and all of the above, I found myself watching sappy Grey’s Anatomy clips. The death of Goerge, the plane crash, and a montage of Alex’s life story. My friend popped in and sat to watch me mope.
Then it hit me: let's dance it out! Christina Yang-Meredith Grey style dance party.
I put on a song, adjusted my nightgown, flashed my puppy-dog eyes until he got up, and we dance. We danced with no care in the world. I was free — completely, absolutely free — for those three minutes and thirty seconds.
Now being the quirky girl I am, I decided we needed to step up our game. I threw a robe over my nightgown, slipped on my crocs, and we hopped into the car at 3 a.m. We drove to a tiny town outside of the city, found an old cornfield, blasted music, and danced our butts off. Danced and danced and danced until the sun came up.
And so the tradition began.
Stressed? Dance it out.
Mad? Dance it out.
Sad? Dance it out.
Bored? Dance it out.
You don’t have to be a good dancer
Hell, we looked like idiots. We used moves we wouldn’t dare pull out in front of anybody else. No shame, though. There was absolutely no shame, no judgment, and no one else there to care how stupid we looked.
The weight lifts off your shoulders
Because for a few minutes, you don’t feel anything. You immerse yourself in the hype music, your smile subconsciously becomes bigger than it has in a while, and your laughs become louder as you watch your “Meredith” dance. The moment is wholesome. You forget about everything else around you.
You realize that life is okay after all
When it all comes down to it, in this world, all we are are dancing souls. Two tiny people in a world much bigger than we could ever see or imagine. Our problems, our stress, our “world that’s crashing down” is completely unfazed.
You live in the moment and learn to enjoy the times you have now
Because one day, instead of dancing in a field with your best friend at 3 a.m., you’ll be up with a screaming kid. One day, instead of staying out until the sun rises then sleeping all day, you’ll be sleeping by 9 to be up for work at 5 a.m.
These moments, these times, and these carefree nights won’t last forever. We can’t get these young and reckless nights back, so we better enjoy it, no matter what that entails.
You learn to not care what anybody thinks
Because if you’re having a good time, who cares what anybody thinks? Everybody else has their own life, their own problems, and their own shit to worry about; nobody will think twice about the smiling girl having the time of her life
You'll make a memory that will last a lifetime
At least if you're me, dancing in the rain, getting your crocs all muddy, and singing your heart out with your best friend on a random weekday night is the kind of little moments that we'll look back on. It's always the unplanned nights that give you the best memories.
So the next time you’re too overwhelmed, pull out your jukebox of a phone and, like Christina Yang, DANCE IT OUT. Even better, grab a friend, and make it a Christina Yang-Meredith Grey dance party.
