Written by Shawn 2022 Cohort
This is a personal answer to one of the New York Times Learning Network topics. For details, check https://www.nytimes.com/ca/section/learning
The sunset spills over the mountains as the character flies like a bird on his skateboard along Iceland’s roads. At that moment, I realized that pursuing my dreams and travelling to the infinite horizon was the meaning of my life.
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” has broadened my perspective on life. For many people, the monotony of life is constrained not by external circumstances but by internal fears. From crowded New York to magnificent Greenland, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Himalayas, people leave their comfort zone to realize that there are many possibilities and beauties in the world.
When David Bowie’s Space Oddity came on, I gradually realized that the life I wanted to live was one in which I could experience the colourful and diverse world in my short life. Experience as much culture, nature, and every inch of the earth as possible before I return to dust. Life is full of surprises. It’s tough to quantify how much this film influenced my decision to travel 8,000 kilometres to study and live in a foreign country.
As the phrase mentioned in the film, To see the world, things dangerous, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of my life.