#40 Good Worth Fighting For

Ever since the summer, my dear friend Amanda has been trying to get me to watch The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I know, I know, it's crazy that I've never seen it, cause who hasn't seen Lord of the Rings? But for whatever reason I never had. Towards the end of the summer, Amanda lent me all three of her extended cut DVDs and her copy of The Hobbit to read, but I never found the time to watch the movies or read the book during my hectic first semester at school. I'll admit I was scared to tell her that I hadn't watched them yet, because if you know Amanda, you know she has a huge thing for Lord of the Rings, and I didn't want to tell her that I failed her mission to educate me in the art of cinematic epics. The time came when we all returned home for Christmas break, and I still had her DVDs, still left unwatched. So instead of groveling at her feet and begging for mercy, I suggested that we just watch them together and make a marathon out of it during our break. Of course she welcomed that idea with open arms and several bags of popcorn and assorted cookies!

Two and a half weeks into being home for winter break, we have yet to get through the trilogy, because it turns out it is possible to get busy even when you're home from school. In fact, I just wrote about being caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, and that chaos has really taken away from my trilogy-watching time! But we've taken it movie by movie...well more like disc by disc. Like I said, Amanda has the extended versions so watching one movie is more like watching two. We've picked up a couple other friends on our cinematic journey to Mordor, and the more I sit and watch these very long films, the more I appreciate the people I'm surrounded by.

 Last night, my friends and I finished watching The Two Towers, the second movie in the trilogy. Towards the film's end, I was struck by a speech made by Sam, who has since become my favorite character in the movies. Here is what he said:

"It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something. That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo...and it's worth fighting for."  

It was in this moment, watching this scene and being with some of my closest friends, that I realized that the true friends are worth fighting for. They are who will be there when times are dark, and they are who will be there when times are bright. Friends, old and new, are special people, and they should not be taken for granted. It's kind of hard to believe that it took an epic monologue and close to eight hours of Lord of the Rings footage (with another four hours to go) for me to truly believe that.

So today, I leave you with a video clip of Sam's amazing speech instead of a picture like always. Maybe it will resonate with you like it did me!

Also I hope you guys like the new blog design! Let me know your thoughts!
Morgan