I’ve watched Forrest Gump when I was a kid. Then I watched it again a few times. And I still cannot say it’s a movie I fully understood. It’s a very well-made piece that coincides with multiple layers of one’s life, depending on which angle you are watching it from.

You can watch the movie when you’re a kid and think: oh, this movie is saying, no matter how far behind you are, you still can do it.

Or you can watch the movie when you are a teenager and think, if Forrest could do it, I can do it. (Egotistical license fully intended for your years.)

You can watch it in your twenties and relate to all the historical events and figures he meets (mostly if you are located in America). If you have just learned about Elvis, you can even try the Hound Dog dance. Such a funny yet smart storytelling. New movies should take a note.

The next time you could watch the movie could be when you are in a hard period of your life where nothing really goes your way. You might start to learn that the movie isn’t really that much about Forrest, as it is about other characters and how his naivety impacts them in subtle ways. Then, there’s this amazing sentence as Jenny throws rage in the form of rocks at her childhood abusive memories (home):

“Sometimes, I guess there just aren’t enough rocks.”

— Forrest Gump, 1994

It’s really a powerful message timed perfectly, executed in a really resonating storytelling moment without flashy cadres, just raw emotion with a conclusion.

In life, we really have a choice to stop looking for more rocks and work on ourselves. This will allow us to push forward and rediscover new corners of ourselves.

As there are not enough rocks we are free to always learn something new on our quest for better. That’s why I enjoy rewatching movies and rereading books that bring new truths to me every time I do.

If you have watched the movie, I suggest you watch it again. Or find that one story that highly impacted you when you were a kid, and go rewatch it or reread it. It will have a huge impact on your life.