As a college student, it's always hard to find motivation. Sometimes when the work gets too hard, frustrating or confusing, the idea of giving up doesn't sound too bad. When I am stuck trying to find some sort of motivation, movies always tend to give me some sort of spark or inspiration to get up and get going! Here are a few films to get you thinking and inspired when you are just having "one of those days".
1. The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty
"Beautiful things don't ask for attention."
This film follows the life of Walter Mitty, an individual who has never once taken a risk in his life. Throughout the movie, you are taken on a journey where Walter (Ben Stiller) travels the world to discover the ultimate meaning of life.
2. Good Will Hunting
"You'll have bad times, but it'll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren't paying attention to."
Based in Boston, this movie captures the life of Will Hunting, a boy who has a lot of hidden potential. Through his therapist (Robin Williams), Will discovers what it really means to take chances in order to meet his full potential.
3. Crash
"I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so that we can feel something."
Taking place in Los Angeles just after 9/11, this film follows numerous story lines of individuals spread out across the city. We discover what it is like to live in a world where racial tension and ethnocentrism can spark hatred between classes.
4. Schindler's List
"Power is when we have every justification to kill, and we don't."
Based off a true story, this movie is about a man who risks his own life to save others. Taking place during the Holocaust, Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) rescues the lives of hundreds of jews by helping them escape from Nazi concentration camps.
5. Up
"That might sound boring, but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most."
There is nothing more light-hearted than a classic Pixar movie. "Up" is a classic family movie that follows the life of Carl, an old man who refuses to let go of his past. He decides to finally take a risk and we embark on on his journey to Paradise Falls. This movie helped portray the fact that "adventure is out there", no matter what you age is.
6. Perks of Being a Wallflower
"We accept the love we think we deserve."
Starring Logan Lerman, this film teaches you what it's like to be looking from the outside in. Following the life of a boy who has been at the bottom, he develops a bond with the outcasts of his school, realizing that his social hierarchy doesn't matter as long as he has reliable friends by his side.
7. Radio
"The way he treats us all the time is the way we wish we treated each other even part of the time."
This film shows you how to enjoy the little things in life. Despite his circumstances, Radio (Cuba Gooding Jr.) develops a friendship with a small town football team, teaching them what it is like to not take everything for granted, and to be grateful for every opportunity you're given.
8. The Kings of Summer
"Why live when you can rule."
This film follows the lives of three boys who decide to run away from home and make a living of their own. They build a house and take on daily chores for survival. But as time passes and tensions grow, they realize that the real world isn't exactly what they thought it would be.
9. Signs
"Is it possible that there are no coincidences?"
Starring Mel Gibson, this movie portrays what life would be like in a farm town. Showing the life of an ex-pastor, this sci-fi film depicts what would happen if extraterrestrial-beings were trying to both contact and invade us. In the end, we find out that it is our smallest faults that truly save us.
10. Interstellar
"We used to look up to the sky and wonder at our place in the stars. Now we just look down, and worry about our place in the dirt."
Starring Matthew McConaughey, this movie truly makes you think. It takes place in the future, showing us how the world is now nothing more than dust and crops. And because of this severe climate change, life as we know it can only survive if everyone chooses farming as their future profession. This film takes you on a journey where some of earth's last astronauts go and try and find a new planet to inhabit before it's too late.
