You jump, I jump (remember?)

At 2:00 this morning I posed this question in my away message: "Is Titanic as good now as it was when I was 11?" Because I'm a math idiot I thought the movie was only two and a half hours long (true running time: three hours and ten minutes) so I decided to watch it under the false impression that I'd be able to go to sleep at 4:30. That doesn't really matter though, the point is that I answered the question.

Here's a little background (because simply answering the question would be far too efficient). Titanic came out on my 11th birthday. That fact adds absolutely nothing to the story, I just mentioned it because it makes me feel special. Anyway, I saw Titanic a grand total of four times while it was in theaters because I thought that it was the most incredible movie ever made. And I was in love with Leonardo Dicaprio.

When the Oscars rolled around I watched them intently and cheered as Titanic picked up each of its 11 awards. Then the movie came out on video and every girl that I knew bought one, as if ownership of Titanic would bring her her very own Jack Dawson. My friends and I watched it at a sleepover once and I heard that some girl from my school (who was not present) had already memorized it and was planning on transcribing the lines as her next act of devotion. We were possessed, and it was good.

I brought my copy back to CS with me after spring break because I was curious. I wanted to find out if my impeccable taste in film was just a recent phenomenon. I wanted to know if Titanic was enduring, or if it would only appeal to 5th grade sensibilities. I wanted to know if Leonardo Dicaprio really was that hot. When I watched it last night all of those important questions were answered - my impeccable taste is apparently inherent, everything about Titanic was just as wonderful last night as it was the first four times that I saw it, and yes, Leonardo Dicaprio really was that hot.

I still want my own Jack Dawson and I'm still willing to float on a headboard in the ice cold ocean to get him. I can still sing along with the Celine Dion song at the end. Really, the only difference between my reaction 10 years ago and my reaction last night was that last night I cried at the end. Clearly, love really can touch us one time and last for a lifetime, and never let go 'til we're gone.