Big Picture Scholarship

A Soul... Changed Disney’s animated movie Soul changed my life. The day after my birthday, October 2020, still in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new movie was released on Disney+, Soul. It follows the story of a passionate band teacher, Joe Gardner, longing to be a musician who took a misstep that puts him in a coma. He goes on a "beforelife" adventure with an unborn soul, 22, to return his soul to his body. I found myself reflecting on my own life and inner conflicts from the scenes of this film as it explored 22 and Joe's search for a spark. An insecurity of mine has always been leading a "boring" life, that I have already been doing my whole life. I am not social like other kids with big friend groups who party every Saturday. I have strict parents who don’t trust me to hang out with anyone besides my two best friends. I regret missing out on so many things as a teenager. It has spilled into fear of continuing to miss out on more things moving into adulthood. Who wants to look back on their life regretting everything? Joe longed to be a renowned jazz musician his whole life. He was just a middle school band teacher who couldn’t even land a gig. When Joe finally got to play with Dorothea Williams, a jazz icon, it was not all he had dreamed about. He worked hard to get to that point, and when it was over, he did not feel fulfilled as he hoped he would. Joe found he could lead his ordinary life filled with joy beyond his biggest hopes. I learned from this to see all the beauty in day-to-day living. I can do all of my simple daily tasks with purpose and zeal when I take a moment to feel the fullness of life. Like when I slow down during walks to observe the nature around me, look up at the sky, the clouds, and the sun, or appreciate a delicious home-cooked meal with my family. Not every day will be the most exciting, but it does not make it meaningless (only if I let it). And I never know when the next day that I'll never forget is going to happen. Despite studying and making good grades, I feel I am nothing special compared to the kids with 4.0 GPAs who participate in every club on campus. I work hard, but sometimes comparing myself to those kids, I cannot help but feel lazy and worthless, thinking that must be what my parents think of me, too. When Joe is in the Hall of You and sees his life, he claims his life amounted to nothing compared to what he saw in Dr. Borgenson's life. Like Joe later in the movie, I realized that everyone is on their own journey and that I can be happy with my achievements, even if the world seems to reward only the extraordinary ones. I have taken that theme to heart, as I am more confident in my school work and myself than ever. I can enjoy life without feeling the need to prove anything. I think I speak for most when I say it isn't every day we find ourselves inspired by cartoons, yet I was. I appreciate life much more fully and am proud of all I do, even if it is not necessarily groundbreaking. Though I only learned a few lessons, while Joe helped 22 realize her spark and purpose, I realized what it meant to live, thanks to Soul.

I hate musicals. “I like escaping from real life. I love how musicals just represent a whimsical persp—” I don’t care. The unrealisticness of breaking into song and dance at every opportunity is exactly why I can’t stand to watch them. I didn’t know “La La Land” was a musical going into it. I didn’t know anything about the movie at all, but the first scene told me everything. The opening song and dance immediately soured my mood, but one of the few things I hate more than musicals is leaving things unfinished. So I stuck it out and watched the whole thing. My feelings for the movie now go against all odds. I love “La La Land.” The main character of La La Land, Mia, is pursuing a career in acting, and goes through many successes and failures trying to get casted. Her boyfriend, Sebastian, is trying to open up a jazz club and expand jazz to young people. He’s also part of a band. Both Mia and Sebastian find success in their career at the end of the movie, largely thanks to each other—not because either of them is an established, connected person—but because they believe in each other and their belief that the other is worthy, talented, and unique empowers them. The movie closes by showcasing both Mia’s and Sebastian’s success. Mia is a famous actress who visits Sebastian’s packed jazz club. The tragedy is that they’re strangers now. It’s a horrible thing for the audience to come to terms with because we spend the whole movie rooting for the two of them career-wise, but also relationship-wise. But I think that’s the most beautiful part of the movie. They aren’t part of each other’s lives anymore, but they wouldn’t have been any happier without meeting each other in the first place. Mia’s insistence motivated Sebastian to leave the comfort and success of his band to pursue his real dream. Sebastian’s insistence ensured Mia didn’t give up on her career before it even started. We never leave each other’s lives. As humans, the shortest time we spend with each other could change the trajectory of our lives forever. Our paths may cross for only a second, but the road moving forward is lit by warm lampposts. Or, it could be overgrown and impossible to cross. Our legacy doesn’t start with our death. It is our choice if we want to believe that people are worthy, talented, and unique, or if we want to crush someone simply because we don’t have to care about them. From the moment Mia and Sebastian’s paths crossed, she would have considered any step towards his jazz club dreams as a success for both of them. This didn’t stop after they broke up, even if they probably hadn’t spoken to each other for years. The closing scene is a nostalgic but proud smile the two of them exchange as they part ways for possibly the last time. Mia is indebted to Sebastian for her life right now, but he will never be part of it. Small things people said to me once have changed how I present, the effort I put into goals, and even the colored shirt I chose to wear today. Causing such (potentially huge) change in people’s lives is a powerful burden, but I’m determined to wield it with care. La La Land changed the way I talk to people and the energy I put into my relationships, no matter how small. It also made me hate musicals just a little bit less (but don’t tell anyone I said that).