'My Sister's Keeper' and I

“Saw My Sister’s Keeper. Beautiful! At one point had to pause. I was crying so much. It reminded me of you.

There is so much more in the world. That is heart breaking, painful, sad yet beautiful.

And we cry about stupid things and useless stuff.

Sometimes I find it difficult to categorize grief. It’s like – No one can ever decide what problem is big enough to cry about.. For how long! Is someone’s death the pinnacle of grief? Or simply breaking up is enough to keep crying. It is like- I can’t decide which sadness is sadder.”

As soon as the motivator friend of mine said these words, I realized that I have been feeling the same way too. Lately I haven’t been able to categorize grief. Anything that didn’t happen the way I expect it to be, made me sad.  In fact I have let petty things upset me. I have shed a lot of valuable tears recently. Also I have been taking the wrong path; I have been taking the way that goes towards the left in the number line. I believed I was exhausted of being positive. The break that my optimism took is now over I guess.

My Sister’s Keeper is a beautiful English drama that I saw this summer. It is a movie that attacks your sentiments directly only if you choose to believe in what it shows. The desires of a cancer sufferer is shown without exaggeration and so the movie stole my heart. It speaks of all the love starting from the mother to the youngest sister to the love beyond family; the kind of love that people would probably claim to exist only in Utopia. Having suffered from cancer, I connect to this little piece of art in a jiffy.

“Having a child who is sick is a full time occupation. Sure, we still enjoy the day-to-day happiness of family life. Big house, great kids, beautiful wife. But beneath the exterior, there are cracks…  resentments.. alliances that threaten the very foundation of our lives… as at any moment our whole world could come tumbling down.” – A quote from the movie.

It has been two years that I am out of the clutches of cancer. My parents still worry about me. They worry so much that it angers me to hear them speak. They care. And I am growing up. I am a spoilt brat and a rebel. I struggle for my desire to be independent. They say one day I will handle myself well but today is not the time. It is not a really nice thing to hear. But after all that they have been through, their ‘overflowing’ concern is justified. I will make sure that my parents see this movie too.

I have been an inspiration to a few people. It does make me feel good. But at times I need others to remind me of the inspiration I have been to them. And this motivator friend of mine makes me realize so co incidentally most of the times when I am low. My face glows with a 32 inch smile, when I inspire myself after a long time. Lately I haven’t talked to people about my experience with cancer and have a great urge to throw an “I had cancer” bomb during a light hearted conversation with some new people, only to see the expression of disbelief on their faces. It’s been a long time that I have shocked people. And I am craving to tell my story again. I have a feeling that I would be bombarding soon. Pity the ones who thought I am just temporarily mentally sick!

And no matter what genre you like, go for My Sister’s Keeper once. I am not really good at writing reviews, so I am not giving you a proper review. IMDB is a better source. I am sure that you can’t deny that it is a beautiful movie. The story isn’t only about the one suffering, but everyone who suffers along, make sacrifices; take extreme decisions because they love. There are moments when you can’t watch it anymore. Because you’re busy crying. It may not show anything new that you haven’t heard of, but if you have anyone around you suffering from a disease like this, you would relate to the movie too. Because you know, you’re a part of it too. Let your stereotypes go, get involved in the movie. I am not sure if saying ‘enjoy’ would do justice but believe in what you see!

SPOILER ALERT! Do not read the following quote if you don’t want to know the story beforehand.

“Death is just death, nobody understands it. Once upon a time I thought I was put on earth to save my sister. And in the end I couldn’t do it. I realize now... that wasn’t the point. The point was, I had a sister. She was fantastic. One day I am sure I’ll see her again. But until then… our relationship continues.”