*Spoiler alert, please watch the movie first.*
Released in 1989 by Studio Ghibli, Kiki’s Delivery Service is about a girl leaving home for the time. It’s tradition for her family of witches to leave home to practice for a year. She’s thrilled to improve on her witchcraft skills and pursue a specialty of flying. She hopes to commit to the year and not return home early a failure. But, this pressure is subsided by her excitement of being a good witch.
Kiki travels to a seaside town in hopes of making it a better place. While exploring the area, she helps a woman with a delivery. Seeing the helpfulness of her skills, she decides to start a delivery company.
Despite the appeal, the job is harder than she thought. Her deliveries aren’t as smooth as she expected and the environment isn’t always ideal. As she continues to deliver, she also gets to experience the struggles of work. She wasn’t prepared for something she thought would be enjoyable to feel dull. This leads to her being exhausted towards her job and feeling burnt out. This feeling takes away her ability to fly. Kiki wants to keep flying and feel energized like she used to, but can’t seem to do it. In her state of stagnancy, a friend of hers gives some advice, “Stop trying...”
Her friend knows that it’s hard to fight a creative block and suggests letting go. “Don’t even think about flying, and you’ll be flying in no time.” Kiki’s surprised by the solution, but tries to follow it. She is able to relieve the pressures of work by accepting that she can have days where she struggles. Through creative balance, Kiki’s able to fly again.
It’s important to have a balance between what you do for work and what you do for yourself
Try your best on tasks for a job or school, but also just as crucial to prioritize personal goals. It’s okay to feel tired or burnt out; you are much more than what you accomplish.
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