I don’t cry much from movies. I can count on one hand the number of movies that have caused me to shed a tear: Hook, Ali, Closer, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

That last one was released on DVD this week and I went out and purchased it tonight. Despite the fact that I already knew the plot, I still can’t help but be touched by it.

There are a few lines, towards the later third of the movie that really get to me. It’s a lesson that Benjamin Button is trying to share with his daughter – a daughter that he’s not really seen. He says:

For what it’s worth, it’s never too late (or in my case too early) to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit. Start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.

And the very last lines of the movie really wrap it up:

Some people are born to sit by a river. Some get struck by lightning. Some have an ear for music. Some are artists. Some swim. Some know buttons. Some know Shakespeare. Some are mothers. And some people dance.

Here’s to all of us having the courage to decide who we want to be.