Pay it Forward

Hi everyone. I just wanna share with you a movie that made me realize a lot of things. If you haven't watch this movie yet, i encourage you to watch it, i tell you it's worth watching. 😁 So let me share to you my realizations from the movie.

Pay It Forward is a 2000 American drama-romance film based on the novel of the same name written by Catherine Ryan Hyde. The film was directed by Mimi Leder and written by Leslie Dixon. It displays a 12-year-old school boy in Las Vegas, Nevada named Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) which was given a class project to complete by his social studies teacher Eugene Simonet (Kevin Spacey), a man with terrible burn scars on his face and neck. His task is to think of a plan that will change the world through direct action. On his way home from school later that day, Trevor notices a homeless man named Jerry (James Caviezel) whom he decided to help in the best way he can. Trevor then comes up with the plan to "pay it forward" by doing a good deed to three people who must in return do good deeds also to three other people, creating a charitable pyramid scheme. And that was where the “pay it forward” movement began which aims to change the world in a better way.

Even before I watched the movie, it is already a big question to me if is it really possible to change the world? Is it possible to make the world a better place to live in despite all the negativities which are surrounding us? Those questions were always leaving me in a deep thought and in the end, I’d just come up with a single-word answer, “IMPOSSIBLE”.

But, the moment I watched ‘pay it forward’, those questions which I thought would only be answered with that same 10-letter-one-word answer were then answered with a different phrase. Somehow, the film made me realize that in this world, there’s no such thing as impossible. Yes, changing the world may be one of the hardest thing we could ever accomplish but it’s possible as long as we have the courage and initiative to do so.

The film is just a visual representation of the famous saying “In order to make a change, the change must first begin from within us”. Indeed. Because how can we change the world, if we can’t even change ourselves for the better. So, we must first develop in us even just a small act of kindness, concern for other people and a sense of responsibility in every action which we are doing just like how young Trevor in the film decided to change the world through small acts of kindness. And instead of asking or accepting something in return from those people which he have decided to offer his helping hands, he told each of them to help another three people which led to the movement’s growth nationwide. It only shows that change can be possible and it may begin even from the simplest action.

Another thing which I realized from the film is that “sometimes, we are way better with someone’s absence and not all things would turn out the way we want it be”. Trevor’s family situation is just a proof that sometimes we are way better without a particular person and that person refers to his father. Yes, having a complete family is everything but if it doesn’t do any good, and instead it ruined us, then I think I can also consider a broken family better. The thing is being better must not only be associated with how the world define it because the truth is, no matter how imperfect our life is in the eyes of others, as long we are happy with our life, then we are better that way.

Another character also caught my attention in the persona of Mr. Eugene Simonet who is Trevor’s teacher in Social Studies. His character made me realize that mistakes in the past or whatever bad memories we have had in the past must not hinder us from moving forward in life. Just because we have a worse past, it doesn’t mean that we are not allowed to accept people who are willing to give us genuine happiness. What’s in the past will remain in the past, it must not affect neither our present nor our future, because its role is just to give us lessons and make us realize that it’s not yet too late to make things right and become better the next time around. We should not imprison ourselves from the mistakes and darkness of the past.

Hi again 👋😁 I hope you learned something from this article. I would really be happy to see your realizations in the comment section.🙏😍 And if you also want to read my other published articles, just visit my account and I would also appreciate if you'll subscribe on my ID. I promise to return the favor. Thank you so much 😁