I have always been fascinated by Stephen Hawking. I may not be a science buff, but his thoughts have really made me consider the concept of time. I remember the first time I watched The Theory of Everything. I was in junior high, and I was trying make connections to what I actually believed about life. The movie, which is Stephen Hawking’s life story, left me gasping for breath. The man, his family, and everything they went through is truly remarkable. That movie was honestly the beginning of the formation for my current thought process.
This weekend, I watched it again. I had searched and recorded it a few weeks ago when I was thinking about Hawking and his death, which happened in March of this year. Watching it this time was an entirely new experience. I am older now, so I could better understand it all this time.
You see, it is not just his thoughts that leave me awed. Quite honestly, I don’t understand a good bit of it. I’m not a physicist after all. What is so phenomenal to me is that he was diagnosed with ALS when he was twenty-one. He was expected to die with two years. He didn’t. No, instead he got married and had children. Instead of dying, he gave life to a theory, and then he disproved it. Instead of dying at the age of 23, he died at the age of 76, having lived life to the best of his ability. He met the Queen. He denied knighthood. No, his life wasn’t easy. He lost the ability to voluntarily move a single muscle, but he didn’t stop. He took the concept of time and ran with it. He spent his entire adult life trying to prove the beginning of time and put it all into an equation. He was exceptional.
This man inspires me beyond anything. I read about him, and I feel as if I can do anything as long as I have the ambition to do it. Stephen Hawking gives me hope. He and I may have nothing in common, but I can only dream of being as strong Hawking. I will hold his story with me through every trial, and I will remember that he lived. If he could live, if he could keep going, then so can I.
I recommend watching The Theory of Everything. It will truly change the way you see life.