I really wanted to cite something profound—like a very literary Hemingway quote or John Lennon’s “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” But, to be honest, one of my favorite quotes is “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”

 

I love Dirty Dancing. I first saw it at the movies, and I remember how my girlfriend and I danced right out of the theater. “The Time of My Life.”

 

I wanted to be Baby so badly. That summer, I even cut my hair shorter and made my then-boyfriend practice the lift. It was one of those movies that makes you want to conquer the world—at least in your own version of conquering.

 

And this is what art—whether it’s music, writing, dancing, creating, or imagining—does. It talks to your brain, body, and soul. It connects you to every lived and imagined emotion—fear, hurt, joy, and love. And this is why I love writing so much: creating, using my imagination, and connecting to people who might not be real but who represent everything we are and feel as human beings.

 

When I hear the first few beats of “The Time of My Life,” I’m instantly connected to Baby as she gets up and dances like her life depends on it. And on days when I feel unseen or stuck, I am her—I turn on the music and dance in my kitchen. “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”