What is one movie you cannot watch without almost crying? For me it’s the polar express movie.

My Girl.

Everyone cites the funeral scene and Vada’s “he can’t see without his glasses.” For sure, that’s a damn good scene. Anna Chlumsky absolutely nails that one and in fact the whole film; she’s amazing throughout. But the part that got me is when Dan Aykroyd with the best acting of his career as Vada’s father comes to tell her that her best friend has died and her realization of that over the course of the conversation.

Seeing her face change from childish innocence to disbelieving grief so subtly yet so effectively…that is what really got to me.

I think I have a special connection to that film because it wasn’t all that long before that my family had concealed my close friend’s (and cousin’s) death from me for weeks. I did not get to go to his funeral. I did not even know he’d died or have any confirmation of it until I basically went on a hunger strike to force the truth out of them.

When I watched My Girl, I was envious of the respect and tenderness with which Vada was treated — that everyone deserves — that was never afforded to me. Vada was surrounded by people who loved her, who cared for her, who would fight for her and be there when needed. And I was not.