The Beauty of Starting Over

By: Alex

Art by Alex 

Everyone has fallen into a rut-- a moment in life when we feel so stuck that we don’t know where to go next. No matter what age, we all face uncertainty.  And with that feeling, it’s hard to be confident enough to take the next step and do something about it. With a recent rewatch of American Beauty, I found a new meaning of empowerment as I saw how the film’s main character, Lester Burnham, dealt with his midlife crisis. He shows us that it’s possible to put an unhappy past behind and start over. 

In the film, Lester reaches his middle age and realizes that he has nothing to live for. His family thinks he’s a loser, he hates his job, and he hides his emotions to get through his days with very little conflict. He has this feeling of sedation that’s followed him for many years. In his time of trying to build the perfect life, he lost sight of what really mattered to him.

In a brilliant fit of ‘YOLO,’ he decides to quit his high paying job to work at a low-responsibly fast food restaurant, buy his dream car without worrying about the price tag, and start working out so he can look the part of this new and improved, ‘awakened’ self.

Lester decides to do something about his struggle. No matter how old, we all have anxieties about the future. It’s very easy to sit around and fall into a routine and continue with life, doing something we are comfortable with to pass the time. But it takes a real passion for life to notice that sometimes the boring, stable stuff we do is actually doing nothing for us. Without a little spice in our lives, falling into a rut becomes inevitable.  

Though Lester’s move to change his life was very abrupt, drastic, and a much-exaggerated version of an empowered human, he was completely in the right. I admire his character so much because he turned a boring, emotionless life into one that he was happy to wake up to each day.

As a middle-aged guy, Lester’s struggle is no different than that of a teenager's struggle growing up. Because of the uncertainties we face of where to go in the future, how we can make ourselves and those around us proud, and what we have to show for a life of work thus far, teenagers, too, can easily fall into a motionless rut. But, we have seen that it’s possible to do something about it.

What I’ve learned from American Beauty is that it’s never too late to turn your life around. We may think we’ve passed the opportune moment to fulfill a dream or do something we’re passionate about—but we haven’t. There’s never a deadline for life. As long as we’re alive, we have the world at our disposal; it’s there as a mode to help our dreams come true. With all the beauty in the world, we just need to recognize how to harness our passions and turn them into a life that is both happy and fulfilling. That life is definitely possible, and it’s never too late to chase that dream.