A Cinderella Story

The intervals between two exams have never been so boring. Everyone has left for home, I am the only one in my group to be stuck in this town, the only who hasn’t been home for six long months. Not that I am susceptible to homesickness, but now I really am and can’t wait to get home. Meanwhile the jobless me has nothing but two, umm no three… hmmm no four things to do every day. First, watch movies and more movies by staying up the nights. Second, sleep for long hours during the day. Third, occasionally eat and fourth remove unwanted facial hair. It is as if I have jet lag but minus the travelling. And for the past few days I didn’t feel like writing, so devoted all my time to Poker - my new obsession. I made a lot of money and then lost it all. Apart from that, during today’s sleep-deprived session, I saw the movie ‘A Cinderella Story’ starring Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray. It is another of my favourite romantic movies with a “and they lived happily ever after” end. While watching the movie, I underwent several realisations which I thought were necessary to be penned down (or keyed down in this case).

This is a story about a guy Austin Ames whose secret ambition is to go to Princeton and become a writer but is unable to express his feelings under the pressure of keeping up to his father’s dreams and everyone else’s expectations of him. He is in love with his ‘cyber girlfriend’ from his school. They have not revealed their true identities to each other but are deep in love. 

The ‘cyber girlfriend’ is none other than Sam Montgomery who works at her stepmother’s diner (which 

had earlier belonged to her father) and also wishes to join Princeton. Both of them, as in Austin and Sam, were afraid to reveal their secret identities to the whole world. They carried on their ‘cyber relationship’ till the Halloween Dance. But as fate would have it (and also to suit the title of the movie), ‘the costumed Cinderella’ Sam had to leave before 12 midnight and dropped her phone instead of the shoe. After finding out that her ‘Prince Charming’ is actually Austin Ames – the school hunk – she gives up hopes for them being together, thinking he would never accept her. But Austin meanwhile has been searching extensively for her. Sam’s true identity is revealed just before the game in a not-very-attractive-way due to the evil plot of her step-sisters. And after this incident and a message from her father left on the diner walls, she musters up the courage to rebel against her step mother and announce to the whole world who she is and what she is made up, giving inspiration to her Prince to follow her lines. Sam found that the house and diner actually belonged to her and also that her abominable step mother had thrown away her acceptance letter from Princeton. Retrieving her authority, she made Fiona and her step-sisters work at the diner and restored the diner its original form. The movie ends with both of them leaving for Princeton together and living happily ever after.

(For a more elaborate summary of the story please refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Cinderella_Story).

It was indeed a pleasant story but as always, I started deliberating. One point that caught my notice that each of the lead pair portrayed a different self from what they originally were. It is not true in the case of every person on earth? Are we not continuously trying to change ourselves to match up the expectations of people other than ourselves? When have we really paid attention to what we want ourselves to be, what do we need to be happy? In today’s fast world, everything is about pleasing others- our bosses, our colleagues, our family, and the list is never ending. Even dogs, who are described as ‘eager to please everyone’, do things which makes them happy. “It is better late than never “holds true in the driving world, not in our lives. Imagine getting enlightenment at the age of say 65 and the time to put it to execution is a few more years. It’s true that it is better than never getting that knowledge but would life not be much simpler and better if the knowledge was attained at the age of 30? According to some great philosopher (me), “life is meant to be lived absolutely not relatively”, meaning being content with your own life will get you the ultimate happiness. Comparing your position, you condition won’t.

Also another thing that I realized was how badly I need a guy who is romantic, who believes in himself and also in me( as opposed to someone who doesn't) and is not afraid to show. Well it applies to me too. And also to my host of friends. It is very very important to have people around you have faith in you and will stand by you (as in the case of Sam, it was Carter).