I am the last person on the dance floor at a wedding, I am the

Tom Fletcher, with humility and humor, declared: “I am the last person on the dance floor at a wedding, I am the person that awkwardly hangs around the edge and says no unless they’ve had a few glasses of wine.” In these words, he unveils a truth about the human spirit: that joy and freedom do not always come easily, for many hearts are restrained by shyness, self-consciousness, and the fear of being seen. Yet beneath his jest lies a universal struggle — the tension between hesitation and release, between the desire to join in and the impulse to hold back.

The ancients, too, knew this battle of the spirit. At feasts and festivals, when music and song filled the air, there were always those who leapt into the circle of dance, unafraid of eyes or judgment, and those who lingered on the edge, longing to join but bound by timidity. Fletcher’s confession is not weakness, but honesty — a reminder that not all souls are quick to cast aside their armor of restraint, even in the presence of celebration.

History offers a tale in the figure of President Abraham Lincoln. Known for his solemnity, he often declined the gaiety of dances, preferring the safety of the edges, watching rather than participating. Yet on rare occasions, when moved by circumstance or freed by trust, he joined the circle, and those moments were remembered with warmth. Like Fletcher’s reliance on a little wine, Lincoln’s rare release shows that even the most reserved can be stirred to joy when the weight of fear is lifted.

Fletcher’s words also whisper of courage. For to step onto the dance floor is more than movement — it is vulnerability, a declaration that one dares to be seen as they are. Many linger at the edge of life’s great feasts, saying “no” out of fear of judgment, waiting for something outside themselves to release them. Yet the teaching here is that liberation, though difficult, brings joy — and that even the hesitant may yet find their rhythm, when given grace.

Let the generations remember: not all must be bold to have worth. Some are slow to join the dance, but their honesty is itself a light. And when at last they step into the circle, their joy is no less true. As Tom Fletcher teaches, even the awkward spirit, once freed, can find its place in the song of life — for celebration belongs to all, whether they leap in first or last.