Stand by Me, 1986 movie starring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell as young boys Gordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern trying to prove a point about themselves while also trying to find a body of a stranger who was killed on train tracks nearby. It’s a defining adventure that changes them all. It has so many lessons about growing up that those who are still struggling with change an appreciate.

It’s a nostalgic look back at childhood. The boys only had one goal: to find a body, to be noticed by the people of their town.

1. It shows how friends grow apart.

It’s an important lesson about how people change and grow, and how it necessarily doesn’t mean it all happens with your best friend.

2. It shows how a decision can change you.

If it weren’t for the decision to go chasing glory and finding that body, none of the boys would have realized what had made them go out in the first place. Once they realized why it was so important for them to go out.

3. You realize how much you need to get out

Growing up means you need to get out of town. Staying in your hometown can be nice and familiar, but it also can be suffocating and constricting. It is the same old routine that you can never escape

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4. Sometimes Good Doesn’t Win

(Spoiler Alert) In the end of the movie, Gordie tells the audience of his book that his best friend Chris stepped in to stop a fight, naturally being the good guy, but is fatally stabbed in the process. It was a shocking twist that was a recognition that even the best intentions can still end badly.

5. Everyone is struggling with something

The whole movie deals with these boy’s revelations. From an alcoholic parent, to being bullied over their weight, each one has a different burden to bear , whether we realized it in the beginning or not.

6. Growing up can happen at a young age.

(Spoiler Alert) Gordie and his gang find the body and realize that the body was a person. The realized that it wasn’t a game where they get a prize at the end. The had left their town as boys but returned without their childhood innocence. Life had consequence, and they realized it.

7. You have the power to make things better.

Chris, played by the late River Phoenix, dealt with this criminal parents and his juvenile brother on a daily basis, but he didn’t become them. Instead of following in his family’s footsteps, he got out. Gordie later tells the audience that after High School, Chris went to college to be a lawyer before (spoiler alert) he tried breaking up a fight that ultimately got him killed.

The end of the film is a powerful dedication to all who find themselves on the out. While each one went through their days being told they weren’t good enough, their time together showed them what they were capable of. They survived rivals, wilderness, and their own demons. In truth, we all have a little of Gordie in us all, desperately trying to prove ourselves and remembering how we got to where we are. We all have a little Chris in us, the notion of unaltered goodness. We have a little Vern and Teddy, boys who are scarred and different and know they won’t fit into a standard. And like them, we all need someone to stand by, even if we choose to stand by ourselves.