And in my case, I’m that friend that literally does not care what I look like when I dance. You can ask any of my friends; whether it's in the privacy of my room to the dance floor when we go out to the hallways of our university, I bust out a dance move or two, or four. I often get teased by my friends for my dancing, because I’ll be honest: I sometimes look like an idiot. But who ever said that was a bad thing?
Dancing is something that comes naturally, whether you’re a baby bouncing around in diapers or a senior citizen getting down in her walker. Whether it's considered good or bad...that's a whole different thing. Some of us are graced with the ability to look like this:
While most of us look like this:
As young adults, we’re caught in the middle of breaking it down on the dance floor and trying to act all calm, cool, and collected. Which, in retrospect, it’s almost impossible to do.
As a senior in college, going through my fourth year of college parties and going to the bars, here is my advice to you readers:
Literally dance like no one is watching. The more awkward, the better.
As some of you may cheer in agreement, others may roll their eyes and a few may scroll down the screen in horror. Well, let me give you three reasons as to why you should let your limbs fly with no care.
1. 'Bad' dancing works anywhere. Grinding… not so much.
In today’s world, being sexy and smooth seems to be what it’s all about. Women have to know how to move their hips and men have to know how to lead, which takes a bit of talent. 'Grinding' seems to be the dance style of our generation when we’re out for a night on the town, and while it can be a fun time, it can also be a disaster waiting to happen. I’m not about to preach that sensual dancing is a bad thing, because it’s not. But, it cannot be done at your cousin’s wedding in front of your parents and grandparents. So alternative dancing is not a necessity, but a very nice talent to have under your belt. Even out and about, being able to bust out the Carlton and own it is going to look 10 times better than being able to grind all up on someone (sometimes).
2. Being able to let loose is a great feeling, and you won’t be the only one feeling that way.
I find it to be totally liberating when I’m able to show off dance moves when I’m around people, even if they’re not something you’d see on "So You Think You Can Dance." If no one is dancing when there clearly should be, I have no problem going and starting it up myself along with a few friends. Dancing in public is one of those taboo things, but if you’re able to have a good time dancing, it shouldn’t matter if people are giving you weird looks. And if you’re having a good time, it will rub off. Your energy in the room will be contagious, and soon other people will feel comfortable enough to dance sort of goofy. To be able to have kind of effect on an environment is not only great to see, but it’s extremely powerful.
3. If you feel confident in your moves, that’s all that will matter at the end of the night.
If you’re able to move around and wave your hands in the air like you just don’t care, Nine out of 10 times, it means that you’re confident, and confidence is a beautiful thing to have. If you can have a good time without caring what people think, then you snap your fingers and tap your feet all you want. Dancing is such a great thing to be able to do, and don’t let anyone hinder you in your quest for a good time. People may make fun of you, but you get to let loose and have a great time, so who’s the real winner here? If you wanna dance, then you dance.
As the wise Gertrude Stein once said: “You look ridiculous if you dance. You look ridiculous if you don’t dance. So you might as well dance.”
