The movie “If I Stay,” based off the best-selling novel by Gayle Forman by the same name, leaves viewers with a powerful message of love, life, and the pursuit of dreams.

The film follows the life of high-school senior Mia Hall (Chloë Grace Mortez), Mia’s former rock-star parents (Mireille Enos and Joshua Leonard) and Mia’s aspiring-rocker little brother Teddy (Jakob Davies). Mia, however, doesn’t quite fit into the family mold. She is a passionate cello player and has auditioned for a spot at The Julliard School in New York City. With all of the college and career choices ahead of her, her relationship with her boyfriend, Adam (Jamie Blackley), a lead vocalist for an up-and-coming band, is on thin ice.

On a snowy day in Oregon, as Mia and her family drive down the dangerous roads, a car accident occurs and Mia as the only survivor from the wreck. While in a coma, she has an out-of-body experience and is able to hear the conversations of her loved ones who are gathered in the hospital waiting room. Her grandparents, her best friend Kim, and Adam all seek to visit her, but medical orders mean few can gain access. In her coma-state, she enters a light portal inviting her into eternity but she does so while a nurse whispers in her ear, “You control this whole thing. If you live, if you die, it’s all up to you. Whatever fight you got in you, you gotta pull it out now.”

Mia is left with a fateful decision to make. If she chooses to live, she will have loving relationships and a bright future at Julliard. But in living, she will be without the ones she loves most, her parents and her brother. In the end, Adam is allowed to see her. During the visit, he shows Mia her acceptance letter from Julliard and also professes his undying love for her. Mia is left with the decision to stay. (Warning: you will be sobbing at this point.)

Although the target audience for “If I Stay”is teenage girls, there is a powerful message in the story for all movie-goers. Mia doesn’t allow herself to dwell on her losses, but instead celebrates the beauty in life. After watching Mia make decisions about her own life, ask yourself this: What makes your life worth living?