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“Gone with the Wind” is the story of a southern belle, Scarlett O’Hara, played by the lovely Vivien Leigh, who had everything. She depended on three things: her remarkable beauty, extraordinary wealth, and the man of her dreams, Ashley, as played by Leslie Howard. The film takes place in Georgia during the Civil War.
There are often times in our lives where the things most valuable to us are the things we become most dependent on. Sometimes we are dependent on material objects like clothes, cell phones and laptops. Other times we become dependent on people, such as boyfriends or girlfriends. It can get to the point where our happiness is dependent on those things and nothing else. As soon as our phone dies, or our relationship comes to a halt, and so does our contentment.
That is exactly how Scarlett lived her life, relying on the admiration she had from every boy in the neighborhood and living off the jealousy of other girls. She soon lost her wealth, her fancy dresses and all the boys who admired her that were away dying at war. And to top it off, Ashley, the man who she had been chasing for years, married someone else.
When I first watched the three-hour film, I was a freshman in high school. I made my boyfriend at the time watch it because of my mom’s rule. According to her, the only way to truly see if a boy cares about you is to put on “Gone with the Wind.” If he says no from the start, and wants to watch something else, then he fails. But, if he agrees to watch it, take a look at his face. If he sits through the entire film, without one yawn or frown, then he passes.
As we were sitting on the couch watching this movie, I snuck peeks at his face, and of course it was clear: He wasn’t interested at all. However, I was too hopeless. I had already gone so far and depended on him so much to make me happy. Two weeks later, he broke up with me, and my artificial happiness disappeared. The one thing I had depended on and based my sad life around for the last three months had disappeared, and I was left heartbroken and confused.
It was at that moment I realized that maybe my mom’s weird rule really is true and I could learn a lot from Scarlett O’Hara. I watched the film again. This time, I paid attention to how pathetic and desperate her eyes were as she laid all her happiness on that married man she will never have, knowing that he doesn’t care.
I also saw how strong she was. I saw how tremendous her willpower was, and how even though she fell down all those times, she stood right back up and said, “After all, tomorrow is another day!” That is exactly what I did. I stood back up and realized that nothing and no one can make us happy. The only true happiness in our lives comes from ourselves.
So when your phone dies, your heel breaks or your lover leaves you, let yourself fall down. Then stand up and say, “After all, tomorrow is another day!”
Bangor Daily News