TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
room, maybe you’re cold, and you open your eyes to realize you have another day of work ahead of you. You’re groggy, have eye gunk galore, and want to roll over and go back to sleep. In the movies, friends say they’re friends, and they genuinely mean it. The good guys always win, evil is always vanquished, the boy likes the girl back, and every problem in the entire universe is solved with an unforeseen epiphany the main character has in the final act of the film. However, all the major life epiphanies of my 25 years on this earth—realizing I don’t
have to let the opinions of other people affect me so drastically, understanding alcohol only offers counterfeit courage, acknowledging a friend isn’t necessarily a “bad” friend just because they hurt me, forgiving my dad for abandoning me, and comprehending I am not what people have labeled me—haven’t resulted in all my problems being solved. In my head, I believed I was supposed to figure everything out in my 20s and then lead a fun, peaceful life, unbothered by fear, doubt, or negativity. In real life, there is no major epiphany that shifts everything into perspective once and for all. Even after we grow and evolve, our favorite people in the world still disappoint us. Our crushes rarely reciprocate our feelings, and we are not discovered as the next huge breakout star while sitting at home on our couch. Real life is messy and inconsistent. As if I needed confirmation from anyone else that I was naïve, my friend directly told me one night while sitting in his car, “Bailey, your life is not a movie. You’re not living in a movie.” It stung at first, but as usual, he was so right. I want to believe that life is about accepting the imperfections of the world on this side of eternity and finding moments
of unbridled beauty and joy in front of us every day. I want to celebrate simply because of those genuine moments—yes, every single day. In life, we often equate the new year with a second chance. We look at it as an opportunity to start anew, to try again, to change ourselves. In movies, a new year is almost never necessary for genuine change. Characters grow and strengthen without a New Year’s resolution; no one waits around for their second chance to begin at midnight. They have nerve; they just go for it. Life may not be like a movie, but I believe sometimes we can take some notes from what we see IN movies. That’s why we watch movies after all, isn’t it? Yes, to be entertained, but also because we see ourselves in the stories on screen. We can relate. We love to see happy endings and we are determined to have our own. The turning of a new year doesn’t have to be the only catalyst for change. We change by taking action and DOING, by just making the leap and seeing what happens. I don’t need a new year for that, and neither do you. There are beautiful moments all around you, and YOU are the main character of your life.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Anna Dickens Made For This with Jennie Allen
LOCAL EVENTS January 5 Luke’s Free Friday—all classes are free Thrive Yoga & Wellness January 12 Downtown Live The Gallery at 1894 6-9 pm January 26 Texarkana Homeless Coalition Chili Cookoff Downtown Texarkana 5-7:30 pm January 29 Giraffes Don’t Dance in Theatre Perot Theatre For more events visit
LIVE MUSIC January 5 Lee Mathis & the Brutally Handsome Hopkins Icehouse January 12 Heather and Jase Redbone Magic Brewing Company 7 pm January 19 The Temptations Perot Theatre 8 pm January 20 Vernon Hinesley Fat Jacks Oyster & Sports Bar 9 pm January 20 Dusty Rose Band Redbone Magic Brewing Company 7 pm
James Owens The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
Annie Ratcliff The Crown on Netflix
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SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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