Life Lessons from Sandra Bullock

Introducing my beautiful daughter, Arielle Rausin.

One actress I’ve always admired for not only her versatility but her spunk is Sandra Bullock. I’ve grown up watching her movies, and whenever its chick flick night with mom, she’s our go to girl. Over the years I learned a lot from her films.

Miss Congeniality taught me to never enter a beauty pageant unless I’m ready to accept a bomb triggering tiara.

The Proposal taught me that if you deem someone your fake fiancée in order to avoid deportation, you will, in fact, fall in love with him.

The Blind Side taught me that if you welcome a large, homeless boy into your home he WILL grow up and become an NFL offensive lineman.

And All About Steve taught me there is someone out there for everyone, even the stalkers in red rain boots.

But a few weeks ago my girl Sandra taught me a lesson that I may actually be able to put to good use. Mom and I sat on the couch with our popcorn and M&Ms and selected Hope Floats on Netflix.  Not only was this charming story a real heart wrencher, it also starred the beautiful Harry Connick Jr., what isn’t there for a girl to love?

I won’t give you a detailed plot synopsis or anything, but there was one line in particular, towards the end of the movie, that really stood out to me.

“Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it’s the middle that counts the most. Try to remember that when you find yourself at a new beginning, just give hope a chance to float up. And it will.”

I think that the reason this really plucked at my heart-strings was because I am finding myself at a new beginning. I just graduated high school, and now I’m off to a university hundreds of miles away from home. I am quite terrified, I can tell you that. I’m afraid to be at the bottom again, to not know anyone. I’m afraid of the intensity of my classes, of the future track meets and races. For the most part I’m afraid of the change. I remember being in such distress after my fifth grade graduation because I was going to a different middle school than most of my friends. Fifth grade! Where someone is your friend just because they gave you a piece of bubble gum once, or played chess with you during recess. Of course, in the end it worked out amazingly. I attended a fantastic arts academy where I met a bunch of friends that I intend to keep for life.  But the only difference between 5^th grade and middle school was a longer bus ride and no assigned seats at lunch. The immense gap between high school and college is still unfathomable to me, even though I’m leaving in just thirty-four days.

I’m also trying to come to peace with this sad ending. Tiny little Cape Coral (or Cape Coma as my friends and I sometimes refer) has been my home for eighteen years. As much as I hate that the only place open after 10 pm is Steak N’ Shake, and that the Florida humidity will turn any hair-do from flawless to frizzy in seconds; it’s also the place where I lost my first tooth, and drove my first car, and had my first kiss. It’s the place where I spend hours with my best friends on the beach, whether we’re setting off fireworks at midnight or watching horrible horror movies to wait out the rain/tropical storm. These memories are precious and endless, but that’s what good ole’ Sandra is here to remind me of. That this is only the middle! All of the scary beginnings and sad endings that I’ve endured or will encounter in the future are only the middle of this fabulous adventure we call life. Let me tell you, I still have quite a hike ahead of me, but I can see the view from here. And it’s breathtaking.

By Arielle Rausin

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