True happiness

I am not a cartoon fanatic. So why Lilo & Stitch? Well, it really was my 10-year-old brother who picked this tape from a video store, and guess what, he doesn’t like cartoons either. It was the F4 song Can’t Help Falling that bewitched and made him insist on that one, but that’s another story. So one can’t-do-anything-night, I ended up viewing my favorite movie.

Lilo and Stich are the names of the movie’s key characters. Lilo is a lonely little girl living on the lush and tropical Hawaiian Islands together with her elder sister. As a very young girl, she doesn’t seem to be easily delighted like other kids her age. Stitch is a dog, but believe it or not, he doesn’t look like one–or for much better understanding, he’s not the one you would want for a pet. Well, for the simple reason that he came from an alien planet, his physical attributes–six legs, two tentacles, and three tails–were justified. He is a product of a hit-or-miss genetic experiment. And because of this, he escaped from his savage Martian producers.

Stitch’s arrival on Earth seemed to be a meteor (see, F4 is really simply irresistible!) explosion for Lilo. It’s as if he came down from the sky and landed on one of the sea-green islands.

Lilo knelt beside her bed and prayed for an answer to her loneliness and solitude. Soon enough, her plea was granted.

The following day, Lilo and her sister went to a pet orphanage to seek a playmate. But there seemed to be something wrong. The place they went to was a jungle! No wonder, Stitch was in the house. The other pets went loco and wild upon witnessing the undomesticated-looking "pet". But Lilo adopted Stitch just the same.

As soon as they left the jungle – the pet house, rather, the adventures and misadventures of the two started. People couldn’t help but stare and ask Lilo whether she’s certain her pet was really a dog or not. Stitch seemed to be ruining everything. But what mattered most was that Lilo was enjoying his company.

But there’s one thing Lilo was unaware of: Stitch’s true intention for her–which was to use her as a human protection to outwit the alien gendarmes bent on recapturing him. Regardless of what Stitch’s true objectives are, Lilo became attached to him and cannot afford to lose him.

So despite the alien hunters’ maneuverings, Lilo did all her best to keep Stitch. She was serious not to let him go. And because of Lilo’s never-failing faith in the Hawaiian tradition of family and friendship or "ohana", Stitch’s heart softened and his intention for Lilo changed. He was given one thing he was never designed to have–the ability to care for someone else.

Stitch realized that Lilo cared for him so much and felt that he, too, should do the same way.

Yes, he may just be a puppy, an experimental puppy. But he acquired the knowledge that went beyond being an independently-existing, unanalyzable-entity. He went through the process of reaching out to other beings.

The movie taught me a lot about friendship. Right after watching it, I can’t help but remember a high school teacher who was so dear and good to me. I genuinely treasure our camaraderie and even now that I’m already in my freshman year in UP, I still have this certain feeling of attachment to the rosary that she gave me when I was suspended from school because of an offense. From then on, that rosary never left my pocket. Perhaps in return, it kept providing me guidance and enlightenment in all my endeavors.

Just a couple of days ago, I got a text message from my teacher which read: "Being happy doesn’t mean everything’s perfect. It means you’ve decided to see life beyond the imperfections. So don’t say you’re happy because everything’s all right. Be happy because everything sucks but you’re doing just fine!"