My life is always changing. Every day I wake up, and something new is happening. While it’s incredibly easy to get stuck into routine, I am a new believer in the idea that change is good and necessary. And once you realize that the tiniest things begin to alter your daily routine. Look at it like this, change to me is the leaves falling, instead of rain pouring. Change to Georgia Byrd was having three weeks to live.
“The Last Holiday” is a 2006 film that stars Queen Latifah as Georgia Byrd. Byrd is a department store employee who injures herself while at work and is taken to the hospital, where she receives life-changing news. Now, Byrd is a dreamer. She has a book of possibilities, the maybes and what-ifs she wanted out of her life. After receiving the news of her unexpected shortened time left on earth, she decides it’s time. She packs her bags, collects every single penny she has left in the bank, and for one month, lives.
There is a freedom that can only be found in self-expression, self-discovery and a little bit of courage. Byrd showcases all of these attributes and allows herself to experience the liberations she has been denying herself for years. I’ve met and know many women like Byrd who have lived in boxes, and that’s why her story is important. Who she was when she found out she only had a few weeks to live is directly impacted by her age.
She fears that she’s lived too long to start over, as if starting from scratch was a privilege only granted to 20-year-olds. This film is special because even now, at 20, I am scared to move from where I stand. As if I will be struck by lightning at the slightest change of who I am or what I want. In her, I am reminded that in order for my life to turn out the way I want it to be, I’m going to need a little bit of courage.
Byrd uses that courage and flies out of the country to experience her dream vacation. A luxurious hotel, with food cooked by her favorite chef. Byrd loves to cook. It was already a staple piece of who she was, but the opportunity to express her love for food in a passionate environment didn’t go past her front porch.
When she gets to the hotel, after a long day of shopping and settling in, Byrd decides to go to the hotel restaurant and, while there, orders the entire menu. The chef, surprised that someone wanted a meal with no substitutions, no changes, as it was, was also surprised that she ordered the whole menu. Upon hearing this, the chef decides he has to go and meet her. Through her expression, she allows herself to be seen, gaining a lifelong friend.
Self-expression is a key ingredient in building relationships, but also in finding self-worth. When you learn and accept who you are, you are able to understand how deserving you are of the things you want. Understand that without expressing who you are, you cannot discover who you could be.
In her expression, Byrd discovers that she is bold. She bungee jumps off cliffs and snowboards down hills with no prior experience because life’s too short to be scared. In this newfound fearlessness at the end of her three weeks, she is no longer afraid to die. It is okay to be afraid, to be scared, but not taking a risk because it may go wrong isn’t worth it. In truth, it is better to try and fail than to not try at all.
“The Last Holiday” speaks to the maybes and could haves that life can offer. Georgia Byrd’s story is one like many others, but I am charmed by the fact that she wants so much; it is rare that I get to see a female leading role where a woman gets to want more than love. Gets to dream beyond marriage. Byrd does live, and her story does go on, but it’s incredible that it only took a few weeks and a few big decisions to completely change the course of her life. It makes me wonder who I could be, but whoever I am, I hope I’m not afraid to be a bit bolder.