On May 30th, 2003, I was 6 years old. Today, as I write this, on June 17th, 2016, I'm 19 years old about to turn 20 in just two short weeks and leave my teenage years behind me.
So what's changed in these last 13 years? Not much. My love for Nemo, Dory, the ocean, marine life, all of that is still prevalent and growing stronger each and every day.
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On May 30th, 2003, “Finding Nemo” was released in theaters, and today, on June 17th, 2016, “Finding Dory” was released.
I'm just like the millions of college kids who have been waiting for the sequel of a lifetime for what has felt like a lifetime. We've waited for 13 years for this.
And because of that, you can guarantee that although Pixar probably assumes theaters will be packed with little kids and families, I could guarantee that a majority of those release day ticket sales will be from us college kids who have been patiently waiting to learn more about our beloved Nemo, Marlin and, of course, Dory.
And now at the end of this marvelous day in June, I can confirm that my movie theater was packed with college kids and high schoolers, the ones who grew up alongside Nemo.
I honestly cannot remember if I even saw “Finding Nemo” in theaters or at what point in my life my love began, but all I do know is that my love for the movie and characters is infinite. I will quote it, meme it, watch it anytime it is on. I even named my first car Dory so when we would go up hills and she would take her sweet little time, I could say “Just keep driving. Just keep driving. Just keep driving, driving, driving. What do we do? We drive!” (May my ’98 Honda Civic, Dory, rest in peace.)
But on this day, June 17th, 2016, I can honestly say without a doubt in my mind that I am head over heels in love with “Finding Dory,” and it is now one of my favorite movies of all time.
I will undoubtedly recommend it to anyone: kids, teenagers, parents. Everyone should see this movie. I could honestly say that it may even be better than the first. And to anyone who knows me knows my undying obsession for “Finding Nemo,” so saying that “Finding Dory” is quite possibly better is probably outrageous to them. But it is the truth.
I have never loved a movie so much after just the first minute. Even before the movie actually started and a short little Pixar film about piping plovers played (boy, that’s a mouthful of alliteration!), I could tell that everything about this hour and a half before me would be one of the best things I’ve ever experienced (and yes, I know that I do say that almost everything in this life is the best thing that has happened to me, but believe me, seeing “Finding Dory” was an incredible moment of my life). But seeing little baby Dory with her big eyes and even bigger heart, I had tears in my eyes and I was beyond excited to see where this adventure would go.
One of the biggest reasons why I have loved Nemo and Dory from the get-go is my undying love for the ocean. I grew up in a small town just 20 minutes away from the shore. I live on the South Shore of Massachusetts for that matter, so you can guarantee the ocean isn’t that far away. Almost every single weekend in the summer, you can find me and my family cruising along the coastline on our boat. We boat, we beach, we swim, we relax, we embrace this wonderful ocean that is just miles from our home. Growing up with this constant connection to water, I’ve fallen in love with it.
Every time I watch “Finding Nemo,” go to the aquarium and even now when I saw “Finding Dory,” I can and will sit there and name as many tropical fish, whales, sharks, dolphins and invertebrates as I can because I’m proud of my love, knowledge and devotion to learning about this mysterious world that rolls up to the tip of toes on the beach.
(I’m sure most of us know that Dory is a Blue Tang and Nemo is a Clownfish, but in this new movie, spoiler, we find ourselves in an aquarium where I went crazy and started naming all the groupers, school masters, parrot fish, angelfish, etc. that I possibly could.)
(P.S. I’m either the best person to take to the aquarium or the worst because I will tell you everything I could possibly know about the marine life and the ecosystems, and I took three years of Marine Biology so we could be there for a while!)
But honestly, all I want to do in my life is better these coastlines, better the ecosystems for the life thriving within them and encourage others to embrace this beauty that we seem to forget. We tend to dismiss that our actions on land affect those at sea.
So with this, I want to remind you of a few “Finding Dory” themed things:
1. The ocean is indeed a place of living. There are living creatures that are just trying to get by, like you and me. Therefore, we must respect it.
2. We should all try to think like Dory. “What would Dory do?” She uses her instincts and gets out of some sticky situations with ease.
3. Never forget where you come from. Our backgrounds and homes are what shape our character and makes us who we are today.
4. Family doesn’t have to just be blood. It can be who we feel most at home with.
5. If you want to go see “Finding Dory,” you really, really, really should; call me up and I’ll come with for the 10 millionth time!
And last but certainly not least, the one thing we should always remember:
6. Just keep swimming.
