I cry every single time at the end of "Dirty Dancing"

The website Christ and Pop Culture recently published an article titled Dirty Dancing and Shrugging off the Dance Floor, written by Anna Allen. The website identifies her as follows:

Anna Virginia Allen is a recent graduate from Oklahoma Baptist University where she received a B.A. in English. She’s currently a writer at the Hobby Lobby Corporate Offices. She enjoys long naps on the couch with her cat, and reading into the wee hours of the night.

The article includes the following passages:

.... If it’s so predictable, then why did I cry? And you should know that I didn’t just cry the one time. This overflow of emotion occurs every time I watch Dirty Dancing. It’s not even a remotely sad movie. In fact, this movie has a thrilling ending — the girl and guy get together, the dad approves of the guy, and it’s assumed that they live happily ever after.

So maybe my tears are those of bitterness rather than those of excitement for a happy ending.

At the Christian university I attended, the focus on marriage is a strong one. Although it may not be intentional, the pressure to find a true love and wed him is definitely prevalent among the young female students.

I remember that during my freshman orientation, the upperclassmen put on a skit that brought the “ring by spring” process to life. This was done by placing twelve or so girls on an imaginary dance floor. There were four rounds to their dancing. Each round represented the four years you were in college. As the girls danced, one by one, a boy would come up to a girl and drag her off the stage, implying that she had been married.

Soon, by the senior year, there was only one girl remaining. The crowd watched and pitied her as she danced completely alone. Eventually, the girl tired of dancing on her own and began to walk off stage.

As a young and impressionable freshman, the message I received from this skit was that marriage was a goal to reach, or an achievement to be made. In these skits, marriage was depicted as a prize that should be attained in the four years it takes to get a degree. But most importantly, these skits taught me that if I don’t find a guy by the end of my college career then I should just shrug and leave the dance floor, giving up on finding love.

Well, faithful readers, I am well past my college career and, you guessed it: I don’t have a guy. But why should that even matter to me? I’m only 22 years old; I should be worrying about other things besides finding a husband.

This notion of finding a husband while in college has been so ingrained in my mind that I don’t even realize that it’s something I grow sad about. Most of the time, I’m independent, carefree, and happy to be on my own. But then one day I’ll wake up, and it’s as if someone flipped a switch — I’m suddenly beyond bummed because of my relationship status, and I’m convinced that I’ll never meet anyone.

There have been times in my life where my prayers have consisted of the words, Dear God, everyone around me is getting engaged, and it sucks. I have had to learn how to trust God in the fact that His ultimate plan for my life is better than any plan I could come up with. Am I sad that I’m still reppin’ the single life? Sometimes. And that’s okay. But I’ve decided that I’m not ready to put all my focus on marriage and relationships.

So back to Baby and Johnny. At the end of the movie, when that ever-present Bill Medley song comes on, we see Baby and Johnny slowly dancing, euphoric after their big number. As the song also slows down, we see Johnny mouthing the final lyrics to Baby:

Now I’ve had the time of my life.
No, I never felt like this before.
Yes, I swear it’s the truth,
And I owe it all to you.

This scene is where I cry. Every single time.

I think deep in my subconscious, the tears stem from all that I’ve been told about being single. I cry because I don’t want to be the last girl dancing. I don’t want to be the girl who has no other option but to shrug and leave the dance floor. And it shouldn’t be like that. Society shouldn’t put that much focus and urgency on marriage, especially not for those my age. ...

Does Anna cry because she feels sorry for Baby not being engaged to Johnny at the movie's end?

I do understand that Anna cries because she feels sorry about herself, but she could improve her interesting essay by clarifying exactly how the movie's ending touches her sensitivity about still being single.