The Sum of its Parts

I sleep so much better if I fall asleep to the sound of the television. I know, it's not a good thing. This week I was determined to fall asleep without it. So I unplugged the tv in my room and fell asleep without its noise. . . Turns out it only took me a couple hours longer to fall asleep without it. No big deal, right? Ha. So by Friday night I was dragging. I decided it wouldn't be so bad to plug it back in just for one night to get a good night's rest. So I did. I remember hearing that whatever you put in your mind right before you fall asleep, stays with you more easily than what you think about throughout the day. Therefore, I wanted to pick a movie to watch that had a good meaning or something to be learned. Something uplifting, wholesome? I don't know the right word to pick. . . Anyway, I decided on the movie Flipped. It's based on a cute little book that I read years ago. One of my favorite scenes of the movie is when Juli, a sixth grader, is talking to her father, Richard, while he is painting. He asks her about Bryce, the boy who lives across the street, who she's had a major crush on for years. Their conversation went like this:

Juli: I guess it's something about his eyes or maybe his smile.
Richard: And what about him?
Juli: What?
Richard: You have to look at the whole landscape.
Juli: What does that mean?
Richard: A painting is more then the sum of it's parts. A cow by itself is just a cow. A meadow by itself is just grass, flowers. And the sun picking through the trees, is just a beam of light. But you put them all together and it can be magic.

Throughout the rest of the film, as Juli sees people, she evaluates if they are greater than the sum of their parts. It's one of my favorite elements of the film.

This part stuck out to me especially, because lately I've been trying to see people for who they really are. Not judging them, but seeing who they are at their core. It's important to truly know those I spend time with, because like they say, "You become who you surround yourself with". I want to be sure I become the person I try to be each day. As I look back at friends and boyfriends that I've had, I have made both good and poor decisions. I can see now, if they were greater than the sum of their parts. And if they weren't, it definitely affected me, my decisions, and even my confidence. Of course, it's easier to see these things in hindsight. But oh how I've learned. Hence, why now I've been trying to see if the sum of a particular person's parts is magic.

One question I had to ask myself is "Am I greater than the sum of my parts?" Of course, I'd like to think so. However, there is always, always room for improvement. I will never be able to learn all that I possibly can in this short lifetime, but I think I have the basics down. It only took me 22 years ;) Because I can't learn everything, I need to utilize the time and resources that I have to become better each day. If I do that, maybe when people look at me and silently ask themselves, "Is she greater than the sum of her parts?" Their answer will be "Yes".