Day 18: In Chapter Thirteen, I talk about a favorite movie that has had an indelible impact on my life. Talk about YOUR favorite movie or movies that help you reconnect with who you are.
I have several movies that I love watching, but I’ve never actually been able to pick a favorite. Honestly, I’m usually pretty terrible at picking a favorite of anything. In my head, it always seems unfair for me to choose one particular thing above all of the others that I equally enjoy. So, with that being said, I’ll talk about a movie that’s been resonating with me deeply, as far as the message of the story goes.
Disclaimer: I am a huge Nicholas Sparks fan. I’ve read a lot of his books and of course, I’ve seen nearly all of his movies. The one that I love the most is A Walk To Remember. It came out in middle school for me, and I’m pretty sure my friends and I had all begged our moms to take us to the theater to see it. We were all obsessed with Mandy Moore and Shane West was most certainly a pretty face to look at (both of these still ring true for me). In the movie, Shane’s character, Landon, is your typical popular boy in school who is always getting into trouble, while Mandy’s character, Jamie, is the simple, reserved, devout Christian girl who is branded as more of an outcast that no one fully understands. She’s also battling leukemia, but she keeps her diagnosis to herself and her father. In true Nicholas Sparks fashion, Landon ends up falling for Jamie. He slowly realizes that there’s more to life than the same old things he’s been doing, and for the first time, he finds someone who truly believes in him. The thing that I love most about this story is Jamie’s perception of the world. She doesn’t care what people think of her, and she sees the good in others, even when they can’t seem to see it in themselves. She faces a lot of adversity at her young age, yet her faith in God’s plan for her is unwavering. Landon recognizes this in her, and he realizes that she makes him want to be a better person. He loves her because she is the greatest person he’s ever known. Slowly, he starts to view the world as Jamie does, and he’s amazed by it.
I love this movie so much because it shares the story of two very different people who fall so deeply in love with each other, even though they get criticized by their peers because they don’t exactly fit the “norm.” They see the good in each other that other people can’t see from the outside, and it changes them. It helps them to become better people not only for themselves, but for each other. To me, that shows what true love should be. Never ending respect and support for each other, no matter what you’re going through. No matter what people say or think. Just two people completely committed to each other through all of the good times and the bad. It’s pretty inspiring to me.
Everyone loves a good love story, even if they don’t want to admit it. Landon and Jamie’s story is so captivating, even though it doesn’t have a cookie cutter “happy ending.” It actually ends in sadness, but it’s a great testament to how valuable our time here on Earth really is. It reminds us that tomorrow is never guaranteed, so we must cherish each day like its our last. We must do the items on our bucket list that we say we’ll eventually get around to. We must tell our loved ones how much we love and appreciate them as often as we can. We must live our lives without negativity and dismissing those kinds of opinions from others. We must love deeply and do the things that bring us joy. We just have to live life like we’re dying, as cliche as that sounds. That’s exactly what Jamie did, and she never expected anything in return. She didn’t want sympathy. She just wanted everyone to love and be kind, and I think that’s a pretty beautiful message to send to the world.
La Bella Vita 