The morning of Tuesday, March 20, my best friends told me that our school was doing this thing where if we went to a certain place at a certain time, we would get a free movie ticket for a movie of our choosing at the local theater later that night.
If you know me at all, you know I love movies. They said they were going to go see "Love, Simon" and I was dying to go see it too, so they invited me to go with, and I gladly accepted.
At first I felt like I shouldn't have gone, because not only had I promised my best friend from home not twelve hours earlier that we would go together during Easter weekend when we're both home, but I also had a lot to do to prepare to leave for Philly at 6:45 on Thursday morning.
I decided it was worth it to go and to enjoy myself in the company of friends, because half of the college experience for me is the spontaneity of hanging out with others -- spontaneity and I didn't really get along until college, so I now soak up every experience I get with it.
I learned how to still get everything done that needs to be done, just maybe not at the time or pace I previously planned. Anyway, I knew that the 20th was going to be a good day, because Pitch Perfect 3 came out on DVD that day and I LOVE Pitch Perfect as well.
Love, Simon was an experience for me: I laughed, I cried, I even groaned at some bad jokes and cringy fads that should already be dead. I really enjoyed the film and how relatable and relevant it is, especially to some people very close to me.
It definitely had its ups and downs, confusion, and left things to be desired in those confusing or depressing moments, but it also had those amazing moments where maybe you expected the outcome but were still left with a sense of relief and exuberance when things did work out after all.
(If you don't know what the movie is about but got this far anyway, the short explanation is that Love, Simon is about a closeted gay guy in high school, his family and friends, and the steps that led to his coming out. You can click on the link to watch the trailer.)
For many of the scenes, I found myself holding my breath. Sometimes I'm too good at being empathetic and I can feel the pain or embarrassment of the characters as things don't go the way they had hoped. Or when the directors shoot a scene a certain way to make the viewers think one thing while there is actually a whole other truth about it.
One of the major concepts of the movie was that no matter what your sexuality is, you are still the same person that others know and love, so never forget that, especially if you are afraid or hesitant to come out. It will be hard and more than slightly terrifying, but being confident with being 100% yourself can be more important for you than anything.