I rarely watch an awards show from start to finish. I love admiring the insane amounts of style that strut down the red carpet, and reminiscing about my favorite moments in the different categories, but by the halfway point I’m either uninterested or too tired to continue. But this Sunday, I watched the Oscars from start to finish, and I’m so glad that I did.
I was really rooting for a few films, and loved seeing my favorite stars in all of their splendor. For many of them, the Oscars is like a graduation from a tedious and insanely competitive program that has no official end date. The mixed look of nerves and genuine accomplishment on everyone’s faces is almost contagious, you can feel their emotions radiating, and I was feeling them too!
By the end of the show, I was totally exhausted, and simultaneously immensely inspired.
I didn’t expect a post to come from the show, let alone all of the takeaways that I’m about to share, but it merely goes to show that inspiration is everywhere. (Which is why I always keep a notebook & pen nearby!)
01/ The power of an idea and a dreamer. This year I found myself listening to the awards that aren’t broadcasted. The ones that won’t be plastered on the front page of newspapers and lifestyle blogs. As I listened to the acceptance speeches, viewed snippets of small films and heard selected sound bites, it hit me that all of these little pieces were the fruits of someones dream.
One of those short films probably began as an idea in someone’s notebook. The sound technician probably played around with little pieces of less than sought after equipment, hoping that one day someone would be able to hear the sounds the way he did. And now, we were hearing them – the world is, in one space, and we are honoring the dreamer who was bold enough to chase an insane passion. How powerful is that?
02/ A small team of mighty supporters makes a strong impact. Some of those same smaller, less talked about categories that won less night only had 2 or 3 people on stage to receive their awards. Some only had single digit teams working on the project as a whole. Still, they were able to achieve so much.
Undoubtedly, there is strength in numbers. All the same, there is strength in a team of passionate and willing individuals willing to go all in. So know who is on your team, and willing to dream on the same scale that you are.
03/ The beauty of humility and thankfulness. Some of the acceptance speeches last night nearly moved me to tears because of their pure sincerity and transparency. I felt like the awardee let us into a piece of their soul even more precious than the one they shared in their work. Because now they were not acting, there were being fully themselves, which is an incredibly vulnerable position to be in.
04/ The fulfilling power of joy. This lesson is a full credit to the stunning Lupita Nyong’o and her incredibly powerful, emotional and sincere acceptance speech. I have never gotten more chills and joy from seeing someone win an award for sharing the depths of their heart and talent. View her speech here, in case you missed it. I hope it touches your heart as much as it touched mine.
05/ The true purpose of talent. Without a doubt, there was more talent in that one room last night than exists in many other places. And all those talented individuals, and teams, wanted to do, was take what they could bring and create something to give to the world. Something that would open eyes, touch hearts, and create a wave of joy to crash over us all.
I say, mission accomplished.
Did you tune in Sunday night? Which moments stood out most to you?
I felt like Sunday night’s Oscars were the first that had me tearing up on multiple occasions, and it is my favorite Oscars by far. It seems like this year was one of diversity- both male acting roles were ones of adversity, one woman of color winning for her acting, a Mexican director, and the best picture going toward a story of slavery. I had chills all night. I was also thrilled when Cate Blanchett won (her performance was incredible, and I was going to be mad if she didn’t win), and when she said that people watch movies about women, I wanted to give her a standing ovation in my living room. I felt so inspired, as I always do when I watch the Oscars every year, but this year particularly so. We all have important stories to tell, and I felt inspired to work on telling mine.
This year’s Oscards were so incredibly inspiring, and made me want to start sharing my story as well. Cate Blanchett gave an amazing speech and made so many excellent points that really needed to be said.
I was surprised to come away inspired this year, too! Lupita’s speech was so flawless, honest & earnest. Having moved to L.A. only last summer (and living just a couple of miles away from where the Oscars were held!), it felt especially inspiring for me to know these people’s dreams had come true here in Hollywood. I hope I can say the same one day. 🙂
I hope the same happens for you as well! It’s great when other’s successes can inspire us to work for our own!
I didn’t watch the Oscars but I did watch Lupita’s speech and it was beautiful. She’s so inspiring and so great at her craft. Loving this post!
She’s such an amazing actress. I can’t wait to see what she does next!
I haven’t seen the Oscars, don’t really have much free time lately. I love your post though, it’s always great when you get inspired when you least expect it. Thanks for sharing it with us!
I’m so glad I tuned into them this year 🙂