Walking out of "Terabithia"
Movies that stir an uncontrollable stew of emotions in me, are the ones I consider the best. I just came out of the theatre from watching "Bridge to Terabithia", choking up, but most importantly, I walked out of it with my mind racing on all directions.
The plot is simple enough. Jess, the main character, is a farm boy who encounters bullies on his way to and at school. They are everywhere! Obviously, Jess is a taciturn, moody kid from the 6th grade who wishes his way through the day. The environment in his family is not helpful at all. Though his parents a loving and his youngest sister, whom Jess shares a room with, is an adorable child, the household is barely making ends meet. Furthermore, Jess’s dad is too down to earth, too serious and too preoccupied with the reality of life. So he tries to transmit that seriousness onto Jess. For Jess, his only escape is the drawings he makes on a sketch book which are a hint to great artistic talent.
One day, an eccentric daughter of writers comes to Jess’s school and proves her worth. Not only that, she is also Jess’s new neighbour. School is as cruel to Leslie, the girl, as it is to Jess, which quickly binds the two kids into a friendship of overreaching fantasy. Leslie pulls Jess out of the real world, teaching him how to leave his mind wide open. They both begin the construction of a fantasy world only they can access; it becomes their afternoon game. This world of fantasy is for Jess and Leslie their door away from a life neither one enjoys.
Their game is in fact the type of game I used to love playing when I was a kid. Apparently a psychologist once told my mother I had my own little world. She was wrong. I had several.
As a kid I was very much like both Leslie and Jess. I found bullies everywhere, even in my soup. The happiest afternoons for me were when I was engrossed in epic battles or endless travels. Since I have always been a city boy, my 4 meters by 4 meters room was my enchanted place. When I was left to play on my own either at the family cottage, or at a park, these too became worlds of their own. Action figures were my favourite toys for they could embody any persona I chose for them. I would play my life away, enjoying the thrills of near defeat, the warmth of imaginary companions, the cold of foggy forests and the satisfaction of victory. My favourite scenarios were of mountains and valleys, but from time to time I would travel into space. These were simply the joyous lands of my imaginary choosing.
Unlike Jess or Leslie I had no friend with whom I could share these wonders. José Vicente was the only friend I could sometime play with, but our games consisted of re-enacting our favourite movies. Besides he lived far away from me and eventually we parted ways. Mine was a game of solitary.
I mostly played alone for I quickly learned not all kids enjoyed imagination quite as much as I did. I played only if I could avoid being seen while playing. For that reason I never went to the park when my parents said, “César, there are kids out, you should go.” When forced to go down, I would stay for a short time before finding the remotest place where I could enjoy my games. Sometimes a kid a few years younger than me would come.
One day, I asked a new kid to play with me. He was new to the apartment condominium I lived in, which in Bogotá are enclosed and open only to owners. I heard he was a gentle boy with good manners, quite different from the other rascals. I concluded he was someone I could safely ask about joining me in one of my games. He answered, “I don’t play like that. I like soccer and sports. So no, thanks.” Indeed he was better than the others, but his answer hurt.
"Terabithia" brought back to me more than just the memories of my games and bullies. When Jess met Leslie, I recalled the days when I dreamed of finding that one girl who would like me for who I am. I longed to have a friend like her. Interestingly, my desire for such a friend began when I saw "My First Kiss", which in some ways resembles "Terabithia". There would be moments when I would lay on my back imagining the different ways in which I could meet the girl I wished for. In those day dreams it was always a new girl uncorrupted by the other kids; unlike the other girls who stood by or plainly ignored me when I was in junior high. Among my favourite ways in which I would meet this girl was me finding her sitting, crying by the door of one of the classrooms. Her reasons for crying would vary from dream to dream, but what was important is that we both bonded. At other times, it would be she who would rescue me from the pit. We were both each other’s knight in shinning armour, just like Jess and Leslie were in "Terabithia".
"Terabithia" it is an amazing production which changed my life a little bit more. By bringing back those rather sad memories in me, "Terabithia" taught me something I should have known from the beginning. Today I am a happy university student with great ambition. My friends are the best thing that has happened to me. I now have a girlfriend who came when I least expected, but whom I care for nonetheless. My relationship with my parents, who, Like Jess’s dad, used to be overly worried with matters of the material world, is great. I have no complains. But I look back and I see a César looking over the brink at the age of 14. Bullying and the stress it caused managed to pull me away from my imaginary worlds almost permanently (only now am I reviving the flame of my imagination). Luckily, at 14 I made some amazing friends that kept me away from any craziness. However, I now understand what kept me emotionally alive during those years. I have learned that the imagination is a magnificently powerful tool.
The plot is simple enough. Jess, the main character, is a farm boy who encounters bullies on his way to and at school. They are everywhere! Obviously, Jess is a taciturn, moody kid from the 6th grade who wishes his way through the day. The environment in his family is not helpful at all. Though his parents a loving and his youngest sister, whom Jess shares a room with, is an adorable child, the household is barely making ends meet. Furthermore, Jess’s dad is too down to earth, too serious and too preoccupied with the reality of life. So he tries to transmit that seriousness onto Jess. For Jess, his only escape is the drawings he makes on a sketch book which are a hint to great artistic talent.
One day, an eccentric daughter of writers comes to Jess’s school and proves her worth. Not only that, she is also Jess’s new neighbour. School is as cruel to Leslie, the girl, as it is to Jess, which quickly binds the two kids into a friendship of overreaching fantasy. Leslie pulls Jess out of the real world, teaching him how to leave his mind wide open. They both begin the construction of a fantasy world only they can access; it becomes their afternoon game. This world of fantasy is for Jess and Leslie their door away from a life neither one enjoys.
Their game is in fact the type of game I used to love playing when I was a kid. Apparently a psychologist once told my mother I had my own little world. She was wrong. I had several.
As a kid I was very much like both Leslie and Jess. I found bullies everywhere, even in my soup. The happiest afternoons for me were when I was engrossed in epic battles or endless travels. Since I have always been a city boy, my 4 meters by 4 meters room was my enchanted place. When I was left to play on my own either at the family cottage, or at a park, these too became worlds of their own. Action figures were my favourite toys for they could embody any persona I chose for them. I would play my life away, enjoying the thrills of near defeat, the warmth of imaginary companions, the cold of foggy forests and the satisfaction of victory. My favourite scenarios were of mountains and valleys, but from time to time I would travel into space. These were simply the joyous lands of my imaginary choosing.
Unlike Jess or Leslie I had no friend with whom I could share these wonders. José Vicente was the only friend I could sometime play with, but our games consisted of re-enacting our favourite movies. Besides he lived far away from me and eventually we parted ways. Mine was a game of solitary.
I mostly played alone for I quickly learned not all kids enjoyed imagination quite as much as I did. I played only if I could avoid being seen while playing. For that reason I never went to the park when my parents said, “César, there are kids out, you should go.” When forced to go down, I would stay for a short time before finding the remotest place where I could enjoy my games. Sometimes a kid a few years younger than me would come.
One day, I asked a new kid to play with me. He was new to the apartment condominium I lived in, which in Bogotá are enclosed and open only to owners. I heard he was a gentle boy with good manners, quite different from the other rascals. I concluded he was someone I could safely ask about joining me in one of my games. He answered, “I don’t play like that. I like soccer and sports. So no, thanks.” Indeed he was better than the others, but his answer hurt.
"Terabithia" brought back to me more than just the memories of my games and bullies. When Jess met Leslie, I recalled the days when I dreamed of finding that one girl who would like me for who I am. I longed to have a friend like her. Interestingly, my desire for such a friend began when I saw "My First Kiss", which in some ways resembles "Terabithia". There would be moments when I would lay on my back imagining the different ways in which I could meet the girl I wished for. In those day dreams it was always a new girl uncorrupted by the other kids; unlike the other girls who stood by or plainly ignored me when I was in junior high. Among my favourite ways in which I would meet this girl was me finding her sitting, crying by the door of one of the classrooms. Her reasons for crying would vary from dream to dream, but what was important is that we both bonded. At other times, it would be she who would rescue me from the pit. We were both each other’s knight in shinning armour, just like Jess and Leslie were in "Terabithia".
"Terabithia" it is an amazing production which changed my life a little bit more. By bringing back those rather sad memories in me, "Terabithia" taught me something I should have known from the beginning. Today I am a happy university student with great ambition. My friends are the best thing that has happened to me. I now have a girlfriend who came when I least expected, but whom I care for nonetheless. My relationship with my parents, who, Like Jess’s dad, used to be overly worried with matters of the material world, is great. I have no complains. But I look back and I see a César looking over the brink at the age of 14. Bullying and the stress it caused managed to pull me away from my imaginary worlds almost permanently (only now am I reviving the flame of my imagination). Luckily, at 14 I made some amazing friends that kept me away from any craziness. However, I now understand what kept me emotionally alive during those years. I have learned that the imagination is a magnificently powerful tool.