Clouds – What Legacy Will You Leave?

Truth be told, I spend a lot of time on Tik Tok… If you also spend time on Tik Tok, you know that oftentimes they may not tell the whole story, try to feed you false information, or over exaggerate something just so they can grab your attention and get a “like”. Because of this, I’m always very hesitant to believe what they might claim. So when I started seeing people on my “for you page” reacting to the movie “Clouds”, saying it was impossible NOT to cry through, I took that as a challenge. 

One evening after a long day, I decided to turn on my TV and start watching “Clouds”, the newly released movie on Disney +. Within the first 10 minutes, I was tearing up, proving all those Tik Toks I had seen to be true.

“Clouds”, the Disney + movie released in October, tells the true story of Zach Sobiech and his family as they navigate Zach’s battle with osteosarcoma cancer. Zach Sobiech, a teenager from Minnesota, was diagnosed with bone cancer when he was 14 years old. After countless rounds of chemo, the doctors gave him the heartbreaking news that treatment was no longer working and his diagnosis turned terminal. From then on, the movie shows how this impacts the characters and how it affects Zach’s life.

When we could’ve seen Zach let that diagnosis beat him down, leave him disappointed, and cause him to give up, throwing away his last chances to live life to the fullest, he doesn’t. Instead, we see the strength and grit Zach possesses as he spends the short time he has left bringing others joy. He created and produced music, including one song called “Clouds” (that went viral!) which he used as a farewell. You can listen to this song at https://youtu.be/sDC97j6lfyc.

Overall, he lived with love, fearlessness, and kindness, despite having every reason NOT to. 

Zach chose joy.

In the final few minutes of the movie, Zach’s mother reads a paper Zach wrote for his English class. He poses the question, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” When I turned off the TV and wiped my tears away, I couldn’t help but feel inspired by the legacy and memories Zach chose to create for himself. It made me think, “If Zach could be faced with the imminent presence of death and choose to LIVE rather than COWER, why don’t I have this same bravery everyday?”

We all are certainly facing lots of challenges in our day-to-day life. We could make a list and go on and on about the things that disappoint us or let us down. However, we have the opportunity to decide to pick ourselves up and move forward, creating a legacy for ourselves that we will look back on and be proud of. 

What memories do we want others to have of us in our chapter, school, community, or even in our life? What legacy do you want to leave? How are you going to make sure you leave this desired legacy? 

This movie reminds us of the precious time we have to impact the world around us by being the light, regardless of our situation.

Live boldly. Love deeply.

Abby

P.S.

Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve you all through this year! You all consistently blow me away with the incredible things you are doing in your chapters, schools, and communities. I hope you all have a blessed and relaxing thanksgiving break!