“It occurred to me then, that perhaps the reason for my growth was I was intended for larger things. After all, a giant man can’t have an ordinary-sized life.”

Big Fish has been one of my favorite films since its first debut on the big screen during my middle school days. Back then, my pubescent self appreciated its quirkiness and cinematic aesthetics—it was different from the usual teenybopper chick flick I enjoyed from time to time. 

Now, however, as I drift through my twenty-somethings, the movie has taken on a fresh meaning altogether: it’s a story of a man with ambitions so huge and overreaching that his small, safe, homey town can’t contain him. His message, loud and clear, tugs on all the right heart strings:

“There’s a time when a man needs to fight, and a time when he needs to accept that his destiny is lost—the ship has sailed and only a fool would continue. Truth is… I’ve always been a fool.”

Here’s to the fools, the adventurers, and the fighters: may our pursuits give us new life; may all our zealous seeking crescendo in a grand finale; and for all our thirsting, may we never dry out.