And the clock keeps on ticking

Wow, what a great year 2008 was for the movies. Amidst all the economic woes and political fiascos (yes Illinois governor, you were the worst) and triumphs (you go Barack Obama, you go), Hollywood managed to give us some cherished classics. Over the past few weeks I've managed to find a connection between some of the biggest movies of the year with our experiences as college students. Call it a stroke of luck, but I think I may have found the one. Yes the one.

As you will notice, we have entered 2009 and if you've watched the JibJab parody of what happened in 2008, 2009 is sure to be a year that will begin in a state of confusion and caution. With the staggering economy, the continuing inactivity of our outgoing President, and new escalations in the wars in the Middle East, one can only hope 2009 will turn out better than 2008. It's during these times of fear and confusion, we turn to this notion of reclaiming the glory days of our youth. In my previous post, I recalled my newfound re-discovery of my Super Nintendo and how my countless hours with it allowed me to revisit my chilhood, a time in which my view of the world was truly roses and lollipops. I didn't know about money issues, nothing about relationships, and thought the world existed between the end of my street and school. Life was simple, yet contrived.

But what if the opposite had occured, in which youth was plagued by medical problems and adulthood was enhanced by vitality but unfortunately doomed by the notion of the constant travel towards death?

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The title alone makes people stop and stare. The curious case? What's so curious? A case? Is it a crime drama or something?

If you haven't seen the trailer of this movie or haven't heard about its sheer magnificence, you are definitely missing out. Benjamin Button is cursed with a curious twist on life's constant factor: time. He is born old, close to death, and slowly travels backwards in age, back towards a youthful existence. Though, he too is not invincible against death, as he becomes younger, he continues his trek towards 70 and 80, his insides decaying as well. Yet, you would think that as a youngester at 80, life would be simple, no?

Perhaps one of the best ironies of the film (and the saddest), Benjamin witnessed all his loved ones die around him and he was powerless to stop it.

We are always on a constant trek to reclaim our youth, to reclaim a time where life was simpler, or so we think. But is it truly?

If you were able to turn the clock back and escape from college life, would you?

To me, I feel that college has given me something I would never get rid of: a chance to explore who I truly am. Though there is a price for this freedom (i.e. academics), it's a price that is reasonable and not extravagant. Would I like to go back to the time in which I had to rely on my parents just to get around? Do I want to relive the painful, embarassing moments of wetting the bed or being called the fat boy? No. Do I want to leave my college life behind to escape in the real world? That question is, like time, too uncontrollable at the present and not something I can easily answer. 2009 marks the beginning of the end with my undergraduate career. In a year, I will have completed a four year career that has been marked with a nice mixture of both happiness and sadness, triumphs and failures, and that ever constant factor: change.

It was very real to me that I saw Ben. Button on New Year's Eve as it brought to life some pressing realities. I'm growing older and I can do nothing to stop it. Unlike Benjamin, I am not a victim to life's weirdness, because I am in control of what happens. Yes, once could argue other factors like fate can influence some of my choices, but ultimately I make the choice. You are in control of your own destiny, no matter who tells you otherwise.

My favorite blogger, Davey Wavey, is also going through this same sort of feeling right now. He posted this entire post on his own musings on a very personal topic, one I don't feel is my right to talk about on my blog, so here's the link: breaktheillusion.com. It's interesting how this person, who seems so comfortable and can tell the world how comfortable he is, truly isn't. Are we always on this constant quest to find out who we truly are. Will we ever be satisfied?

I think back to Benjamin Button and realize he was satisfied in the fact he found his true love and got to be with her for the time he did. Whether or not F. Scott Fitzgerald meant it to be perceived this way is up for debate, but it made me realize that sometimes there is only so much worrying you can do. You can only worry so much about your final exam. So much worrying about love and relationships. So much worrying about life in general. There comes a time where you have tell yourself one thing: Shut up.

Yes, shut up. Quiet thy mind and revel in the one thing we always seem to forget: You are alive and in good health. Whether you aren't in good health, you're still living. When the world is collapsing around you, it's these times of goodness and sheer joy that you have to remember. College is an interesting monster of a being. It can give us the best times of our lives and the toughest. But, if we go into it ready for anything and ready for those uneexpected events, won't we come out a stronger person?

Life is not fair sometimes, life is fair sometimes. Fate is an uncontrollable force, no matter how much you try to control it, it will always find a way out of your control.

2009 may be forcasted to be a year in which we may face our toughest challenges yet, but if we go into it expecting the worse, then we will get the worse. But if we do believe in the Audacity of Hope, perhaps we may come out unscathed and stronger and more of an individual than we were before.

Have a great new year's day everybody! Tomorrow I may not be able post because I'm going back to college and it's going to be a full day of travelling and getting into job training.

But please, relax, enjoy the company of your family and loved ones, because soon enough, we will be back into the flow of things. Savor the break.

Rock it out!


AND...before I forget, go treat yourself to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Even for a three hour movie (yes, it's roughly that long), you will not be bored.