On the sinking ship.

I’ve been flicking through my 642 Things To Write About book recently, writing down any of the prompts that inspired me, and two jumped out and made me want to write about them:

‘Your favourite moment in film‘ and ‘How you feel about love these days‘

I couldn’t answer one without the other, as the two are kind of intertwined in my mind.

My favourite film is Titanic, and my favourite moment lays within this film; the part that gives me goose bumps and brings a tear to my eye every time without fail. Rose finally gets her place on a lifeboat that is being lowered into the water. She is looking up at Jack and Cal who are still on the ship. Everything is in slow motion and there’s distress flares lighting up the sky behind them. Then time catches up to her and she leaps from the boat, back to the ship to be with Jack.

I’ve watched that film a lot in my life, (Could my eyes ever tire of Leonardo DiCaprio? I think not!) and every time I’ve compared that moment to the relationship I’ve been in at the time. I’d ask myself “Would I jump back on the ship for them?” and sadly, the answer was always no. I often imagined the sense of relief I would have if I was Rose, getting on the boat, being safe and leaving that relationship behind. I thought I would probably do much the same as Rose when she hides her face from Cal when he comes looking for her.

I always told myself, “I’ll know I’m with the right person, if I’d jump back on the ship.” and strangely, I lived by that.

Of course, I am now engaged, have a child and a mortgage with a man who I would jump back on the ship for. That’s right, I found my Jack Dawson! And I still think that scene perfectly describes how I felt and still feel about love.

Love isn’t always great; it can feel a bit like a sinking ship sometimes. It’s not like you imagine as a child; grow up, meet the one, never argue, have a life that’s all sunshine and daisies. Some people might have that, but I can’t say I’ve ever known it that way.

Jack and Rose are on the Titanic, knowing they’re about to die, Cal is trying to shoot them at one point, they see the people they’ve become friendly with for the final time, and then they wait together in frozen water to be rescued. Rose could have been safe, and dry; but what’s the use in being safe and dry if you’re not with the one you want to be?

Okay, I know, Jack and Rose’s love story is just a story, but I still feel like it can reflect reality… or maybe I just really love that film.

I feel like love is everything. It’s the good, it’s the bad, it’s the glue that holds life together. Whether that’s in a romantic or platonic way, whether it’s between you and family, or you and your favourite song; love is the glue.

You can be in love, you can be happy, but if you still want to be with them during the bad times too, then that’s real love to me.

And so I have to ask you, how do you feel about love these days?