To All the Boys Loved Before

 Love letters and lessons in life: Reflections from "To All the Boys I've Loved Before.".

The first time I watched the movie of Jenny Han's novel, "To All the Boys I've Loved Before," I was clueless to what I might expect. I knew it would be a romantic-comedy of course, but the plot beneath the surface is so much more; so much more in which my story of love, identity, and turmoil of growth really resonated deeply.

The novel is based on the story of Lara Jean Covey, a junior in high school, who spends her life in secret writing love letters without much fanfare. Love letters were declarations of love from her heart and fears and vulnerabilities to former crushes. I really well understand Lara Jean's plight when she holds close to her heart as she dreads rejection and change due to love that might come her way.

The movie really does a great job of portraying the awkwardness and excitement of teenage romance. The entire experience of watching Laura Jean navigate her feelings for Peter Kavinsky and to confront all her past loves reminds me of my first crushes and the intensity that came with them. Peter, played wonderfully becomes a confidant and source of growth for Lara Jean, showing how love can sometimes come from quite unexpected places. I learned, through developing relationships between them, that love isn't always straightforward; it's messy, complicated, and beautiful.

The most loved family dynamics in the book involved Lara Jean and her sisters who had an unbreakable bond; this sounds familiar to me. In fact, I managed to identify how family love could mold a person's identity and experiences. The movie pretty much hit its point that though romantic love is beautiful, love from family is something that is there to stay as a base. That reminds me of the countless times my family supported me through heartaches of mine and, therefore, plays such an important role in all forms of love.

That different way of telling this journey of self-discovery struck a chord in me. This reminded me of the years since I have watched her move out from being this shy girl before to growing into this young woman stage and to come out of comfort and be herself is what inspired this well-portrayed Lara Jean. It makes me feel then that if only we do some of our things to face biggest fears, I am able to come into blossoming with all of my truth selves.

As it brings us into the truthfulness of concerns, especially upon coming into growing in such conditions amidst much media and created imageries, then it seems like Lara Jean embracing love became more incredible-a state of strength with that. All the individuality a human could become and self-esteem without wanting to live an unattained set of norms will be during my time living with my family. I loved how a film would call its audience to be truthful, own up to their stories, and not be afraid to show people what they actually feel.

It is much more than a love story because it depicts poignant adolescent experience with all the lessons concerning love, family, and acceptance by one self. The movie reminds me of my childhood memories but was educated enough by saying that there comes no love affair, neither among friends and families in life, regarding us. Indeed, life is a letter-a set: the unwritten one, one written with your heart and at least be taken to your part. Which did happen with how I'd rediscover the whole story about Lara Jean-brokenly relished the clumsy appeal of getting experience with falling into love and becoming big.