Making A Difference

Last night, my parents and I watched the movie Mr. Holland's Opus. This movie is all about a man who's one dream is to create one piece of music that will make him famous. He ends up unwillingly taking a job as a music teacher. As the years pass by, his wife becomes pregnant and he finds less and less time to write his music. However, he has become a great teacher, influencing many children and teaching them how to love music anyway he can. When he finds out his infant son is deaf, he's devastated that he won't be able to share his one passion, music, with him. As Mr. Holland slowly gets older, he feels he was unsuccessful in life because he never was able to publish his one piece of music. When the music program gets canceled in his school and he is let go, it makes him feel even worse. However, as he is leaving the school, he hears a commotion in the auditorium, only to discover that there were hundreds of students, alumni and current, that were in there to thank him and tell him goodbye. One of his students, that because he encouraged her to chase her dream became governor, shared that:

"Mr. Holland had a profound influence on my life and on a lot of lives I know. But I have a feeling that he considers a great part of his own life misspent. Rumor had it he was always working on this symphony of his. And this was going to make him famous, rich, probably both. But Mr. Holland isn't rich and he isn't famous, at least not outside of our little town. So it might be easy for him to think himself a failure. But he would be wrong, because I think that he's achieved a success far beyond riches and fame. Look around you. There is not a life in this room that you have not touched, and each of us is a better person because of you. We are your symphony Mr. Holland. We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. We are the music of your life."

She then invites him to conduct his past players in the first performance of his symphony.

After watching this movie, I realized that I want to be like Mr. Holland. My dream is to influence as many people as possible in a beneficial way. To touch others, and make a difference in each and every one of their lives. This is when I realized, I'm already doing that. I'm doing it through this blog. Every one of you reading this is the music of my life. I'd like to thank you for caring so much about what I say and taking the time to give me feedback on everything I write. This blog means a lot to me, but it would mean nothing without my followers. So thank you, really. You've helped me find a purpose in my life! I highly recommend this movie and hope you find as much inspiration in it as I do!

-Alli