Thursday, September 9, 2010

Change of Mind: My Life as a House

Before watching the incredible movie 'My Life as a House', I took my father completely for granted. To me, he was an important man in my life who was essential to my living, but nothing had ever happened that made me realize how much he really meant to me. In the movie, George (the main character) finds out he has three months to live. He decides that he wants to spend the last few months of his life with his son, Sam. Sam is a very troubled sixteen year old who enjoys letting everyone around him how much he hates his life. I am not saying that I am as troubled as he, but everyone has their flaws. Throughout the three months, Sam realizes his love for his father and doing things for others. Once he finds out that his father is dying, Sam's view on life changes completely. It was through Sam's change that I realized that I do not want to wait until my father is dying to be close to him. I've since realized things that my father and I have in common. We both love to debate, over analyze, and pick apart other people's words.

Whenever I act like a stubborn teenager and say "I love you" to my mom 'like I don't mean it' she always retorts with, "Elyse, what if i died today and you would always remember that the last thing you said to me was "I love you" and you don't even sound like you mean it". Since watching My Life as a House I have really understood the importance of making a lot of the things I say to my parents meaningful because if anything ever happened to them I would not want my last memory with them to be an arrogant statement.

1 comment:

  1. Hey Elyse!

    I really enjoyed reading your entry. I think its amazing how movies can have such great effects on people's lives. I'm really glad that seeing this movie brought upon a closeness between you and your father. After reading your blog I went to say "I love you" to both of my parents with sincerity in my voice. The story line of this movie breaks my heart. I couldn't even imagine having something so tragic bring my father and I together. It would be so unbelievably hard. I feel like we have a lot in common when it comes to our family lives; everything that you stated about your interactions and relationships with your parents describe mine exactly as well. I really need to see this movie; I love my parents more than anything but I feel that after seeing a movie as heart-wrenching as the one that you described, I'm sure my love for them will grow even more. It is so important to appreciate the loved ones you have in your life, because you truly "don't know what you got until it's gone."

    -Nicole Lander : )

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