Moments like this lift me up and motivate me

Today was Lan’s last day at #dorkdancing — she is moving to Malaysia and her flight is tomorrow. I met her back in June (6 months ago) and she grew into one of my closest friends here in Da Nang. I remember when she first joined, it feels like years ago, but she was one of the first people at dorkdancing. I have danced with her probably over 40 times. It was always so fun, goofing around together but outside of dancing, we grew a really strong friendship, I feel really close to her. Lan is a beautiful person, carrying such wonderful energy. She makes me feel warm inside. Because today was her last day, it was really something special, I think meaningful for her and for me too. When we played “Final Song,” it hit us. We got together as a group, swayed back and forth, and chanted Lan, Lan, Lan! We put her in the middle of a circle and jumped up and down. Bence then put on another song, for her, a goodbye song. And things got emotional. Again we got into a circle, swaying slowly. I could see Lan crying, that made me cry. Thai was clearly crying. I looked around, and others too. It was sad but also so beautiful. Crying in beautiful moments is one of my favorite kinds of tears. We did one of our big group hugs, 10+ people with Lan in the middle. Looking around at others, it really was a moment. Not only was this Lan’s last day, but also our final day of 2020. For strangers to come together and feel so close and supportive like this, its powerful. It reminded me what #dorkdancing can do to bring people together, build powerful relationships, and inspire beautiful moments. Strangers dancing on the streets. With time, close friends. Moments like this lift me up and motivate me. Lan, this may be the “Final Song” in 2020, but we will dance again together in 2021. See you online!! — Ethan Levy