Good Will Hunting A film that got me through some tough times
Words by Lakeisha Watkins
people wanted me to make the most of my abilities, even when I was reluctant to. I’m no genius like Matt Damon’s character though. Give me a math problem and I’ll erase it.
“The desire to triumph against dire circumstrances. The value of friendship. And the power of human spirit” I still vividly remember the yellow and golden hues of the film and how I felt akin to the character Will Hunting. I was thirteen years old, the perfect age for me to watch Good Will Hunting. A time when life was turbulent and bleak (yes, I know everyone says the same about their teenage years). My mum scolded me for snickering when Will made a comment about Sean McGuire’s wife. I was a rude kid... I know I’m not Will. He’s a fictional character written by two actors who went on to Hollywood stardom. I’m a real person who wouldn’t dare to do most of the harmful things that Will did. Yet as a kid I saw some similarities between myself and the silver-tongued character. We both came from a poor socioeconomic background. We also had abandonment issues and a similar habit of pushing people away. Like Will,
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There are other things you need to know about me. I struggled with a learning disability as a kid. A teacher once remarked “I always thought there was something wrong with you,” when I was ten. She’d probably have a heart attack if she knew I just finished my bachelors degree. I was also bullied often. Whether it was my big forehead or my acne. It’s not too bad though, Doja Cat’s line “can’t call me stupid with this big ol’ fucking forehead motherfucker,” is now very relevant. Other things I’ve dealt with include family violence, having anger issues as a teen and struggling to know my self-worth. When I was eighteen, I wrote an essay comparing Good Will Hunting with the book The Maze Runner for an English class. It was an important year for me. I was graduating from high school, a pretty big accomplishment considering I was previously convinced I’d drop out. Things were great, my grades were high, I’d applied for university, I’d bought a car and I was making good savings from my part-time job. I’d made peace with a lot of my personal struggles too.
