This made me smile.

I hope it does the same for you.

(500) Days of Summer

Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn't.

"(500) Days of Summer" is something seldom seen, an original romantic comedy. This movie is all about love. But not the kind of love with a happily ever after, instead it is about a love that is real and filled with the dizzying highs and weeping lows of a passionate entanglement.

Tom is a frustrated greeting-card writer who longs to be an architect. He is a hopeless romantic who believes that he will only be truly happy when he meets his one true love. After many days of monotony Tom meets Summer, a free spirit with a "have fun now" attitude. Summer doesn't believe in love and thinks that relationships bring nothing more than strife and heartache. Tom is determined to prove her wrong. And so begins the narrative that hopscotches around the 500 days of their relationship. A relationship that is filled with love, heartbreak, and every emotion in between.

I admire the way that love was presented in this movie. I can relate to it on so many different levels. I have experienced this kind of love. Love that you give all of yourself to. Love that you live for. Love that you believe will last forever. Love that ends. Then it becomes love that made you stronger. Love that helped you to grow. Love that made you better. Love that had no happily ever after.

Watching this movie brought to the surface life lessons that I have been learning over the past few years of my life. Lesson 1: Being completely in love with someone, doesn't mean that they will feel the same about you. You can't make someone love you in the way that you love them. Lesson 2: It is possible to overcome even the most crippling pain of heartbreak. Days pass uncontrollably, and little by little, you heal. Lesson 3: If it is meant to be, it will be. Be yourself. The person that is right for you will love you exactly the way that you are. Lesson 4: As hard and as lonely as the journey is, remain hopeful of the destination.

"(500) Days of Summer" is intelligent and emotional. It navigates the tightropes that link thoughts and feelings, and it does so with heart and humor. This movie is amazing from start to finish. I loved every minute of it.