Back to the Beginning

           I was recently reminded of the spark that started this blog. Recently some close friends and I went to see Monsters University; the Pixar short beforehand brought me back to last November. I took my brother to see Wreck-It Ralph for his birthday, and the short before that movie was fantastic. I guess I wasn't the only one who liked it that much; it was so well done that it won an Academy Award.
           The short film was called "Paperman" and yes, if you haven't seen it, you should watch it before you continue reading. The film begins with a handsome young man and a beautiful young woman who "meet" (in passing) on a train station platform. He is clearly enamored by this beauty, but misses her as the train departs before he could say anything. The only remnant of this meeting is a lipstick-stained paper from the woman's file folder that she left without... Jump forward a bit, and at work the man spots the woman in a building across the street. He tries desperately to get her attention, waving and turning all the forms on his desk into paper airplanes to get her to notice him. The paper runs low until he only has the lipstick-stained paper left. That too is turned into a plane, but to no avail. 
           As he leaves his office building and tries to find the lovely woman, he finds only the lipstick marked airplane, and thrusts it into the air. It lands in an alley where the rest of his planes had landed. They all begin to move-- carrying the man along the streets toward the train station while the one with the lipstick goes after the woman. She sees it, and recognizes it, then begins to follow where it flies. In the end, the two of them are brought together at the station platform and are then seen chatting at a coffee shop, along with the airplane bearing the lipstick mark between them.
           This short had a profound impact on me. Aesthetically, I liked the cool CGI but 2D animation and the fact that it was in black and white (except for the lipstick stain, which I'm pretty sure was red). But the typical, predictable, but touching movie love story was really what got me. From the audience's perspective, these two are clearly meant for each other. He begins to realize it, and she might see something there too, but day-to-day life and their circumstances keep them apart. But, he kept pursuing her, like a gentleman. She carried on with life, but when she saw that lipstick-stained airplane, she went after it too. I guess what I most took from it was that what is meant to happen, will happen. You just have to give it time, but never give up hope. When things are looking down and you're frustrated, that's alright. It's a part of life to be frustrated and disappointed; just don't stay there. Never forget how wonderful the lessons God has for you to learn are, how much He and others around you love you, and how all things work out in the end. Only time will tell.
           And thus, through my recent movie-watching experience, I was brought back to the beginning. Back to the moment where I knew I needed to start a blog, to record all sorts of wonderful thoughts like the ones I had on this short film. It might not have been much, but it was the spark. And I am thankful for it. Who knows what I'd be doing with all the random thoughts I have otherwise.

[If you haven't seen the "Paperman" short, you can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL-7Xo5QPeY . It looks best if you turn the 3D off in the bottom right corner. All rights belong to Disney/Pixar and all their writers, directors, animators, etc. who worked to produce such a beautiful short film.]