About Time

There are two types of people in this world; those who seize the day and those who watch others take chances. All of our lives, we are told not to take time for granted not really knowing what that means. In the movie About Time, written and directed by Richard Curtis tells the story of Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) who, on his 21 birthday, finds out from his father (Bill Nighy) that men in their family can travel through time. His father informs him that winning money and never working screws up with other people, leading to Tim’s decision to pursue a romance with a beautiful, yet insecure Mary (Rachel McAdams). Through Tim’s mistakes and memories made, we can learn a series of life lessons.

Lesson One: You can’t make someone love you. Tim accepts a job in London, and after 6 months he meets Mary in an entirely dark restaurant, dining in the dark. Although neither is hard on the eyes, it is through their conversation and presence that Tim and Mary fall for one another, not their appearances.

Lesson Two: Quality and quantity time with the people you love are the most cherished moments in life. Instead of being asked what she does for a living, Tim’s mom asks Mary to share her faults. It is these quirks that define us because they remind us that we are human and completely different, yet because of that, entirely the same.

Lesson Three: The real troubles in life will always be the things that never crossed your worried mind. Tim and Mary give birth to a blonde-haired girl, but Tim’s attempt to prevent a terrible accident from occurring causes him to return home to a different child. Tim’s father informs him that if he changes anything before his child is born, a different child could be waiting as a result of the shifts in his hormones. Tim is suddenly faced with a decision that has the potential to negatively affect the lives of many.

Lesson Four: Don’t wait for the perfect moment…take the moment and make it perfect. It is what you make of your life that creates memories. You are faced with many challenges in life, but you have to take them and run with them. Tim’s final lesson he learns is that one must live every day and enjoy it as if it is the final day of our lives.

We can take the lessons Tim learned and apply them to our lives as teenagers. We spend too much time stressing about what could happen rather than what is happening. We are forced to focus on our futures-where we want to go and what career we are pursuing. Days go by with our minds fixated on what could happen next rather than what we’re missing out on right now. It’s time we take time out of our lives to focus on those around us and seize the day in front of us. “We’re all traveling through time together, every day of our lives. All we can do is do our best to relish this remarkable ride.”-Domhnall Gleeson as Tim Lake