Art

The BYU Alumni email recently pointed me towards this short animated film, "Thought of You" by Ryan Woodward, which I find absolutely beautiful. There's this part of me that always wonders if I had it in me to be either a dancer or an artist-- forms of art that I pursued at best half-heartedly and way too late to ever be particularly good at. Rather than sitting around regretting my life, I prefer instead to appreciate what those with more dedication and talent can do. This short combined the two so gracefully I can't help but love it. Go ahead and watch it now, then you can read my thoughts about and watch it again and see if you agree! (If the link doesn't work, you can always go here instead.)

Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

There are so many things here that I love, like the very beginning when the boy wakes up. It's sad to admit, but that's how I feel most mornings as I get out of bed. At 1:16, when the girl leaps and the whole thing goes into slow motion for just a moment. Why can't life do that for real? At 1:50 when the boy's arms suddenly grow long and weigh him down. I have definitely had times when I felt like that. And then right after that when the girl sprouts wings. I have had those moments, too, and they are amazing. This was such a perfect way of expressing those times.

Craig and I both sort of hated the ending to this, with the girl curling up and collapsing all alone. But as we were discussing it, he said that if he were still single, he would probably like it. I asked him why, and he said it was because the girl "deserved it for playing hard to get!" I wondered what exactly she did to play hard to get, and he answered, "Well, she kept disappearing on him!" Good point, good point. It reminded me how glad I am that I am incapable of playing hard to get-- Craig and I never would have worked out...