TO THE ONES WHO DREAM

In which I ramble about all my thoughts on La La Land. This isn't going to be a review -- at least, not really. This movie and its themes have been stuck in my head since I saw it, and I needed some way to release allll my feelings.

(spoiler free, of course. like I said -- these are more thoughts than a review of the actual movie.)

I've always considered myself a dreamer. More often than not my head is somewhere in the clouds, which can cause me to come across as quiet, but that's only because there's an orchestra of hopes and fears and dreams and completely unrealistic expectations swirling in my mind. Forever dreaming and thinking and hustling and wondering.

I went into La La Land without knowing anything about the actual movie. Well... I guess I knew that it was some sort of romance with music involved. Okay. Cool. So?

What I didn't realize, is that I would connect with this story so much. I fell in love to the point of tears, and after watching the movie I immediately rushed home to play the songs on the piano. this. movie. means. so. much.

Yes, it is a romance. A very sweet one -- making a huge deal about holding hands and the smaller things. The romance wasn't the reason I loved the movie so much, though it certainly did add to it with the realism of it all.

La La Land is a story about artists and dreams. (okay, sorry, this is totally turning into a lil' mini review xD) It's about an aspiring actress and a jazz musician. It's about their extreme love and passion for making their own dreams come true. I can relate.

What I adored, is that the movie didn't just show the glamorous parts of being an artist. They showed the struggle -- working their butts off, living simply, and the pain of rejection. It showed the curtain behind the fame, and the trials it takes to get there in the first place. It means working every. single. day. It means working with fears that the day of "making it" in the industry might not ever come.

Being a dreamer is easy, but making the dream a reality is something only a few can accomplish. It means trying again and again, even when it doesn't work the first time. La La Land showed the importance of the "never give up" attitude, and it made me so happy.

Sometimes, being a dreamer means giving up other dreams to focus on The Dream. This is the hard part -- where the sacrifices come in and it quickly becomes clear that it's not possible to do everything. That it's not possible to have everything in life.

This movie gathered all my thoughts and inserted them into one, beautiful masterpiece. The music, the dancing, the romance, the story, the showcase of artists and musicians and dreams. The lyrics below hit me especially hard, and I struggled to hold my tears and sobs in the movie theater.

here's to the ones who dream
foolish as they may seem
here's to the hearts that ache
here's to the mess we make

(isn't that the most beautiful thing? the whole song is lovely and I cried all the way through it. THIS MOVIE, YOU GUYS. asjdkfl; <3)

It's a fine balance between being sensible and following crazy, big, magnificent dreams, but maybe we can do both. It's tough.But God gave us dreams and the hearts and talent to achieve them. With His help and His will... who knows what might happen.

In all, go see La La Land. Shoot for the sky, and work hard to conquer those handmade dreams for you. 

(i hope you enjoyed my rambles. :P)

<3,
katie grace

(now that your head is filled with the topic of dreams... the amazing writers of burning youth posted about dreams all throughout the month of january. go bless your soul with the inspiration of that blog. <3)

have you seen la la land?

what are your dreams?