“Mr. Holland, we are your symphony.”^1
Gertrude then asks him to come onstage as the curtains
pull back to reveal a full orchestra band, ready to play “An
American Symphony” by Glenn Holland. With tears in his
eyes, he conducts the symphony he spent three decades of
his life composing, an effort he thought had been lost
forever.^2 It’s a moment of clarity for both the audience and
the protagonist, a man who felt he had missed his calling,
that he had wasted his life on a pursuit less significant. And
he was wrong.
Sometimes all the little things in life aren’t interruptions
to our calling. They are the most important part. “Life is
what happens to you while you’re busy making other
plans,” John Lennon wrote in a song to his son, Sean.^3 We
see this come true in Mr. Holland’s life, as he can now see
the full picture of his calling, understanding that every
frustration had a purpose and that when he felt farthest from
his true reason for living, he was actually much closer than
he realized.
Life has a funny way of teaching us that sometimes the
most important stuff is the ordinary stuff. The smallest
moments, the ones we think are insignificant, are the ones
we will cherish the most. As you endeavor to do something
amazing with your life, don’t forget that without people to
support your dream, your work will always be incomplete.
A life filled with achievements and accolades but lacking
those people necessary to celebrate those moments is not