Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Well, here it is, new movie of the week, "21". I read some reviews on it before I left and it looked like most people didn't like it that much. Honestly, I don't know why. Maybe it's cause the main character in the movie, Ben, is in a similar place to where I am now. A college student at MIT, Ben has spent his whole life working his way up to Harvard Med School, and now, he's looking for a way to pay for it. So he starts counting cards with some of the people at MIT and almost loses himself to gambling.

There's just something I love about this movie, and I don't think it's that I'm at a similar point in life. The movie taps into something that I think isn't spoken of very often in some circles.

The desire to take risks.

There's something about us, as humans, that makes us always want to take risks. We see something like sky diving, bungee jumping, or free climbing and it's exhilarating. And it's not just the adrenaline junkies I'm talking about. We thrive on risks. Asking the girl to prom, going out to parties when our parents are asleep, or simply driving way too fast. Something about us longs to take risks, not because of the risk, but because we know of the greatness that comes when we succeed. We long to be great, just like Ben did in "21". So here's the question.

Why aren't we great?

So much of the time, it's simply because we don't take the risk. We're scared of what will happen if we fail. This is something that has plagued me for most of my life, and I regret not having taken the risks. There's something to be said for being safe, but not when it hinders on the chance to be great. Drinking and driving? Yeah, that's a stupid risk, and one where you need to play it safe. But asking that girl to prom or standing up for something when no one else will? Those are the moments we long for.

The reason we never become anything and stay in our little po-dunk towns, working at the McDonald's and making less than minimum wage for the rest of our lives is because we never try. We dream, and we long, but we never take the risk. This movie is a great example of what can happen when you take risks: the results can be good, and they can be bad. All I'm saying is, let's learn to take risks, but let's not be stupid about it. Do the hard things and make mistakes. In the end, you'll be happier that you took the chance to make something of yourself instead of waiting for greatness to smack you in the face.

If there's one thing to take away from this movie, it'd be this:

Greatness doesn't come by hard work and safe measures. Greatness comes by passion, dedication, and taking chances to become great. It doesn't just land in your lap one day, you have to make it happen for you.

So will you dare to be great?