On Saturday I donned my Heart Shaped Sunglasses and headed to the theater to watch Katy Perry‘s 3D movie, Part of Me. Not to stray into hyperbole, but it changed my life. I don’t think I’ve ever come out of a movie so inspired and excited about achieving my dreams. (And listening to Katy Perry 24/7.)

There are basically three storylines: Katy’s life/career trajectory from baby to present, concert footage from her California Dreams tour, and behind the scenes/life footage from that tour. I had a basic knowledge/awareness of what happened leading up to the release of One of the Boys, but it was really spectacular to get an even deeper look. The concert footage was amazing, obvi, and I would totally watch a movie of just that.

The more current behind the scenes footage, which included her relationship with Russell Brand from beginning to end, was probably the most emotionally hard-hitting, and the most inspiring. Seeing someone so completely devastated behind the scenes, and then pulling it together to give her fans the best, most wonderful experience possible was incredible.

One of the Boys dropped the summer I was eighteen, just graduated from high school, and about to start the next chapter in my life. In the years since, Katy and I have both realized dreams: she’s become a huge, worldwide sensation of a pop star, and I get to work at Fred Flare! Pretty sure that four-years-ago Katy and I would both be blown away at how much our lives have changed by now.

Part of Me was a lot of fun and a great beat-the-heat summer movie, but more than that it’s a glittering pop reminder that if you dream big, work hard, and believe in yourself, you can make your life more amazing than you ever could imagine.