As a young girl, I used to believe that somehow, by some irrational misfortune, I was born into the wrong era. Because I have grown up with the love of music deeply intertwined into my soul, and such a great part of this love was for the likes of the Righteous Brothers and the Beatles, surely I was supposed to be born into the 1950's and 60's? What went wrong? How on earth on did I land up being born in 1984?
Anyway, I've learned to embrace my era, the late 80's rock, the crazy 90's and now the ultra-cool 00's. But still... sometimes I still think about those golden years, at the birth of rock and roll. The greased back hair.. the puffy skirts... the dance halls alive with swing... Girls waiting to be asked to dance... Boys learning to be gentlemen... And I still wish, with a tiny part of me, that I'd been born thirty years earlier.
Tonight I watched "Dirty Dancing" again. Admittedly, it's an 80's movie, but so well-set in the 60's era - it really made me smile. Now I'd never watched Dirty Dancing until I was around 23 years old, so you must know, it's still a novelty for me, even now after watching it a few times since then. You see, beforehand, even just the phrase "dirty dancing" might have made me blush, never mind the actual dancing itself. But from the first moment that I watched it, I fell in love with it, as have so many women before me.
The idea that an innocent young lamb of a girl could fall so deeply in love with a troubled bad-boy, and with her wonder-filled, soulful eyes and unscathed ideals, pull him out of the pit of nothingness that has become his life.
And likewise, the idea of this dangerously sexy man becoming obsessed with a naive, timid girl, to the point where he can do nothing but leave all his foolishness behind in order to dote on her, protect her, and teach her to dance. And to "let go".
You see, every girl wants to be Baby. And the thing that makes me love this movie so much is that I have always felt a lot like Baby did. As a teenager, I was always such a good girl. So well behaved, so well-meaning. So afraid of letting people down. I was geeky, nerdy, incredibly clumsy, awkward, hopeless at socializing, and I couldn't dance. I was nice, and people liked me. But I wasn't ever popular, and that's made me feel... forgettable.
And that's what I've come to love so much about Baby, is that she changes from the girl that I've always felt like, into all the things a girl wants to be...
Brave.
The apple of someone's eye.
Someone worth fighting for.
Bold.
Sexy.
Self-assured.
Willing to stick up for others even at her own cost.
Loved intensely.
Desired.
Someone who can dance without abandon.
Yes, every girl wants to be Baby. And it's got nothing to do with dancing with a ripped 1980's Patrick Swayze, although that wouldn't hurt.
Just sayin.
So anyways, I'm feeling all fuzzy inside, and thought I'd share two of my favourite scenes:
Of course the one is the legendary "Last Dance" of the movie, which is fun and heart-warming... and what a timeless song!
But even more so, I'm just crazy about the "Lover Boy" scene, which is simply adorable to watch. Over and over. And over.
Anyways, wouldn't it be nice if we all had someone to be our Johnny or our Baby, someone who helps brings out the best in us? Someone who opens your eyes to all that you have to offer this world... and them. And that at the end of each day you could say... or sing...
I've had the time of my life...
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