Letter #39 - La La Land // Here's To The Ones Who Dream

To anyone who needs a mood lifter,

SPOILER ALERT: This whole post contains spoilers, so go and watch La La Land, first!!

Just to give you a tiny clue of how this post is going to go, I'll explain how I came to be here, writing right now. I just watched La La Land finally, and it made me feel so full of emotion and life that I'm writing this on my phone while sitting in silence on the car ride home. I genuinely want to sit here for as long as I can, in this bubble of inspiration and joy that that production has put me in. It was beautiful and breathtaking and brilliant. (Yay, for alliteration!)

I don't really know what I'm writing yet, this isn't a review. It's more about how the movie made me feel, I suppose. And isn't that the whole purpose of a good film? To leave you raving about it.

So I was intrigued by the trailers that popped up before every YouTube video for weeks and then I heard the hype around it and then its success during awards seasons but I had still pretty much avoided hearing anything "spoiler-like" and so I didn't really know what to expect or even if I was going to watch it. 

A few days ago, my younger brother, watched a late night showing of it with some friends and at around 1am, I was awoken by the buzzing of my phone and my brother raving about this beautiful piece of artistry. He was talking about the cinematography and the colours and all of this other stuff, as though it was an average day and he speaks like that on a daily basis. Disclaimer - he really doesn't! The most you can get him to articulate is "'sup, bro."

So being the typical older sibling who had to be in the know, I had to watch it ASAP. But I also hate cinemas for movies like this. Those thoughtful, carefully painted pictures that need true appreciation. I hate to have to watch them in a crowd of faces, most of whom are rustling and whispering away, missing something magical happening before them. I ended up going to a daytime showing with my mum as a compromise. At least I knew she would appreciate it. There were maybe 6 others in the room.

Now, one thing about me is that I live by the saying "don't expect anything and you won't be disappointed." I heard the hype and how well received this movie was but I was still going into it with a lot of scepticism because generally I'm disappointed by the movies with hype. 

It only took until the end of the opening sequence for me to be proven wrong. That alone was so full of colour and fun that I knew I couldn't not enjoy this film. And enjoy it I did. I absorbed it; literally soaking in the beauty of this piece of work. This piece of art. 

Now, again, I'm not normally like this. I don't get precious about movies; it's usually tv shows that take my focus and even then solely for character development. But this was a production and a merging of so many things, that I feel it needs a category all of its own. There was fantastic film-making, an amazing score, music, dancing, colour, light and then the most lovable simple story, with such real characters that I could imagine superimposing myself into the story and it would still make sense.

It is a love letter to classic Hollywood and that was evident to me from the start but it gave the whole thing a timeless, classic quality. This film will stand the test of time.

The basic premise of the movie is a love story between the characters of Mia and Seb, but it's about so much more than that. They have hopes and dreams and their own creative paths to follow and it's about how important it is to have those people who support and push you as long as you don't lose sight of your end goals. 

It's about choices, and moments, and courage, and persistence, and dreams, and above all passion. A great line by Mia, is "people love what other people are passionate about" and it's true. The greatest people in the world are those with hopes and interests and plans so far fetched that you hope for their sakes that they follow through with them, because it would be amazing when it became a reality.

Another line that really stuck with me was "they worship everything and they value nothing" as Seb spoke about LA and his love of jazz. He valued it as an entity and stuck by it regardless of how many times he was told "jazz is dead." In this day and age everything is readily available, that interests wane after a mere moment before the next fad comes along and it was great to see someone so determined to love what he loved and do what mattered to him. 

As someone who has many creative dreams but a practical brain that usually overrides them, this movie was a perfect kick up the backside for me. Take the chances, do the things, live the life.

At the end of the day, this film highlighted how important it can be to follow through with your dreams and not put them on hold for a relationship. Mia and Seb both give up on their dreams at certain points; Mia out of sheer heartbreak of all the setbacks, and Seb out of a desire to have a steady job and lifestyle.

I've heard lots of people say how they cried so much while watching and I was confused by my reaction. I smiled with teeth throughout most of it. So much so that my jaw and face muscles ached at the end but like I've mentioned before, it was an uplifting, hopeful piece of work. 

The one time I did cry was a scene towards the end, where Mia has given up on her acting dreams and gone back to her hometown. Seb drives up to give her the good news of a callback and as they argue about it, she breaks. She looks utterly shattered as she cries "maybe I'm not good enough." I broke, there and then. I'm sure we've all felt crippled by life and not being at the stage we thought we would be, and putting it down to not being enough and it was so completely relatable, that it was heartbreaking. 

For all their hopes and dreams, they both worked exceptionally hard to make them realities; while that involved Seb selling out for a while and having to be reminded of the importance of his original dream, or Mia working night and day to write herself a role in a one woman show, and paying for the production to go on. They both paid their dues.

The ending was one that I've heard referred to as sad, but I'd say it's more bittersweet and those are the best endings. Where you know that someone got what they wanted but sacrificed a lot to get there. It's realistic and it's raw and it's true to human nature. 

There's always this idea that if the aim of a story is for a couple to fall for each other, then it's not a satisfying ending unless they do. I don't agree. To know that they grew and got their dreams was satisfying enough for me. Because you can't always have it all and that's just life for you. It's especially poignant in this modern time where career does take over for most of us but it's a choice to be made just the same. And like they said, they would always love each other regardless.

There's a sequence in the last ten minutes that shows an alternate reality for the two of them, where they would have been married with a child and they'd be happy and together and it's beautiful. I was reminded that the choices we make are so important. The moments that we will look back on may not be the most important or interesting at the time but we'll look back and wonder how it could have gone.

Anyway, this is getting way too long but if you can't tell, I love this movie and it'll be my new favourite and I doubt anything will beat it for a long time to come.

A quick mention to the music, and the songs. I'm listening to the soundtrack as I write. The fact that Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are not trained Broadway singers adds so much to the songs, because their voices have their own quirks and it comes through in a way that makes it so easy to listen to. Also, the way they depict jazz is lovely and I dare you to watch this movie without tapping a foot to the beat, or moving your shoulders and simply wanting to get up and dance with them! 

A final note has to go to Mia as a character; she's everything I wish I could be. She's strong, and focused and so unwavering in her belief that this is what she has to do as well as being incredibly supportive to Seb and pushing him to remember his dreams. It's great and her wardrobe is perfect. I'm now going to be on the hunt for the perfect yellow day dress. And then I'm naturally going to pair it with tap shoes! 

It may have been over 2 hours long, but it felt as though it passed in a blink of an eye. I could have sat in the screening, watching it on repeat! (I'm not joking. If that's an option, I'll take it)

And that's me done for now. If you've watched La La Land (which I hope you have or else I've spoiled it for you...) then let me know what you thought. It's also totally fine not to have felt everything from this movie as deeply as I did, or at all. 

Until next time, be inspired...

Love, Z

Letter #38 - Plan For Your Goals

So I've spent the week, having a fresh start and organising the things in my life that needed organising and after seeing just how many other posts there were relating to New Year's resolutions, I thought I'd wait a while and approach it a little differently. 

First of all, I hope everyone had a good holiday and new year. So I know it can be a touchy topic when I say it's a new year and time for a fresh start. The cynics among you will ask, "why now? If you wanted to start fresh, why was September not good enough, or October 23rd? Why does the new year require change?" In short, it doesn't. You can start with a new idea or lifestyle or any other alteration you need to make, whenever you want to, but there is something sweet and rounded about the first day of the year. It gives a solid starting point. It's like when you're procrastinating and you think to yourself that you'll get to your homework at 5pm and then before you notice is 5.24pm, so now you have to wait until 5.30pm or 6pm before you start. Because it just feels right. That's all it comes down to. A feeling.  

If that feeling is that you're going to have a fantastic year, then by all means, go ahead.

So I debated whether or not to talk about resolutions in general or my personal resolutions. I decided on the latter. I have a lot of goals for each year and I very rarely meet them all but I give it my best shot. This year, however, I really do feel that this is it. I'm going to smash this year and feel amazing about it. The reason I know this is because while every other year I set vague resolutions that I had no set plan to accomplishing, other the last year, I've learnt about goal setting and the preparation that goes into any task with a goal.

I mean, you wouldn't just jump in and attempt a 10,000 word essay, without a plan, right? (Okay, that's a bad example... I actually have done that and it turned out great haha). Either way, the majority of tasks require preparation of some sort before we can undertake the commitment.

Say that you wanted to go to the gym more. One, that's a vague goal to begin with. How do you quantify "more"? And two, you can make excuses far too easily. You don't have the right gym top, you need a new sports bra, the gym simply isn't cost effective right now... the list can go on and on and before you know it, it's June and you haven't even taken one step in the right direction.

So as I said, I'll name a few of my goals, simply as a way of holding myself accountable. I've already had my goals written my bullet journal since the 1st of the the month and now I'm using this post as a means of accountability while also drilling it further into my own mind. I always set learning goals, and they are important to me but this is the first year in a while where I'm not in education so I can choose to prioritise the things I want to learn. By the end of 2017, I am hoping to be fluent in Spanish, have a basic grasp of Italian, take a certificated sign language course and to understand the basics of coding. These are not things that I decided on a whim and I took my time, researching each of them because as I said before, preparation is key.

I've always loved languages and I did study Spanish to A-level but let it all get forgotten after that. So when it comes to learning Spanish and Italian, I am going to use Duolingo. 

This is an app that's been around for a couple of year and I've had it downloaded on my phone pretty much as soon as it was a developed application. The great thing about it is that it's free. If you want to try a language and you're not too sure whether it's for you, there's no harm in trailing an app that costs you nothing. It caters for a broad range of languages, and it starts of very simply. It uses repetition and audio and even tests your pronunciation as you get further into the lessons. The app is advertised as needing just 5 minutes a day, and that is absolutely all you need. It also gives it the option to set a notification so that it can remind you once a day and I really do love that feature. 

So this isn't a new app to me and I do know that I love it and the way that it helps you step by step but I also know that sometimes I get lazy once I'm in a routine. So this time, I'm keeping a notebook for all my new vocabulary and the gendered nouns so that I can feel as though I've taken a more active role in my learning. Five minutes a day for a year is just over 30 hours of study. That is minuscule in the grand scheme of things but it's still something that most people could find time for.

The coding is again, something I've loved from afar. I'm always so in awe of all you can accomplish with knowledge and as we travel further into a technologically aware society, I feel like I need to understand the basics for myself. Honestly, I just hate feeling like I've missed out and for me FOMO is never more real than when I feel I don't have a piece of knowledge that I should have. 

For this, I've found so many online learning systems and it is going to take some trial and error before I can feel confident that I've doing it right. I've subscribed to a programme called Skillscrush as just one way of introducing this topic to myself. There's also codecademy and Khan academy that claim to have great teaching resources for my needs. I think this is something that will take much more time and focus and for now, I'm setting that out as one day a week, for as many hours as I can stomach.

Lastly, a learning goal that I have wanted to achieve for so long is to learn British sign language. With a brother who has had to use signing systems as he grew up and a mother who worked in a special school, I've been around the practice of communication through signing for most of my life. But I've always wanted to actually learn the basics and more if I can. I think it could be an invaluable skill and even if it isn't, and I never have to use it, I think it casts an awareness of how other people have to live their lives and that's too important of a lesson to pass up. 

For this goal, I didn't want to be left on my own and to end up doing it wrong. So I've found classes that I can take in my area and I hope to be able to gain some kind of certification for the learning that I will do other that time. Again, this is just something I want to do for myself, to prove that I can and because I think it should be common practice, in the same way that first aid skills now are.

Anyway, those are just a small handful of my goals for this year. What are some your goals and how do you plan to achieve them? (I'm only really asking because I love getting new ideas that I ucan use myself!) 

Until next time, be inspired...

Love, Z