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.