{"id":180291,"date":"2026-04-30T14:27:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T14:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/180291\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T14:27:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T14:27:09","slug":"dancing-through-thick-and-thin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/180291\/","title":{"rendered":"Dancing through thick and thin"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have a 15-minute dance party every day.<\/p>\n

When I attend concerts or festivals, I usually log more than 40,000 steps \u2014 nearly 20 miles. Somehow, I manage to squeeze a version of that cardio into my daily life at Lehigh.<\/p>\n

After classes, I go back to my room, put in my noise-canceling AirPods and turn on electronic dance music. Even on bad days, I make time to playfully dance around my carpeted bedroom, alone, fairly certain my roommates can hear every rhythmic stomp.<\/p>\n

Before my senior year of high school, I mostly listened to rap, classic and alternative rock. That changed when a friend came back from college and played Stardust\u2019s \u201cMusic Sounds Better With You,\u201d a \u201890s dance music staple.<\/p>\n

We drove down the Jersey Shore as the song echoed through her jeep, our messy beach hair blowing in the breeze. I could feel the groove of the bass take over my body. I\u2019d never felt the urge to dance like that before, but in that moment, I needed to release the energy.<\/p>\n

According to the National Library of Medicine<\/a>, the tempo of house music \u2014 typically 120 to 130 beats per minute \u2014 stimulates the nervous system, increases serotonin and reduces feelings associated with sadness or depression. I became hooked on that feeling.<\/p>\n

That summer, I dove into house music and eventually expanded into other forms of electronic music by the time I reached college. During my first semester, I studied abroad in London \u2014 often considered a hub for electronic music \u2014 and became further enamored by the culture and scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But my daily dance habit provides more than just physical benefits. It helps me stay resilient.<\/p>\n

After the first week of spring semester classes in 2023, I returned to my dorm and collapsed onto my bed. Loneliness and seasonal depression were catching up to me, and it was starting to take a toll on my mental health.<\/p>\n

It was too cold to go outside, and as a \u201ctransfer,\u201d I lived far from the freshman dorms. I didn\u2019t know many people and felt disconnected in my environment. I began to believe I was destined for permanent emotional exhaustion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For weeks, I convinced myself things wouldn\u2019t improve. I refused to see anything positive in my situation.<\/p>\n

One night, as I prepared for a melodramatic wallow session, a close friend from my study abroad program texted me a link to one of our favorite songs \u2014 Kaskade and deadmau5\u2019s \u201cI remember.\u201d It brought back memories of the bond we shared.<\/p>\n

I played the song, expecting a wave of sadness and nostalgia. Instead, it sparked something else.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, I was up and moving again. I could feel my inhibitions slip as I let loose and allowed the music to take over my body.<\/p>\n

I found a dependable, endless source of happiness and haven\u2019t stopped grooving since.<\/p>\n

Even as a senior with an established social life and friends, I carve out time to dance around my room daily. It truly keeps me going, especially on days when it feels like the world is collapsing on my shoulders.<\/p>\n

Regardless of what it looks like, I encourage everyone to integrate happiness into their daily routines. Whether it\u2019s playing a sport, singing in the shower or eating a favorite meal, taking a few minutes each day to do something meaningful can spark an emotional release that\u2019s vital for maintaining serotonin levels.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On busy days, it might only be 15 minutes. On better days, I\u2019ll dance for over half an hour. On the worst days, I still make myself dance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When I unplug from reality and focus on the rhythm of the music, I tap into a source of pure euphoria. Personal joy looks different for everyone, but mine is electronic dance music. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I have a 15-minute dance party every day. When I attend concerts or festivals, I usually log more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3946,119,121,120,4520],"class_list":["post-180291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-4-min-read","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news","tag-edit-desk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}