Be honest with yourself: How much time do you really take to appreciate what the father figure in your life has done for you? Probably not much. Between homework, exams, meetings and a social life, you barely have time for sleep these days.

So this Dads Weekend is an opportunity to turn it all around. It is your chance to take a few days and remember why your dad deserves this weekend getaway. And, in case you need a few reminders, the words of these Hollywood father-figures remind us why we should salute our Illini dads:

1. They build us up even when our best efforts come up short. Maybe you didn’t hear it in a football locker room, but sometimes Dad’s message may sound like the words of “Remember the Titans” Coach Herman Boone:

“You boys are doing all that you can do. Anybody can see that. Win or lose… We gonna walk out of this stadium tonight with our heads held high. Do your best. That’s all anybody can ask for.”

2. I’ve never raised one myself, but I have to imagine that a child presents you with a whole lot of problems that just seem to come out of left field. And we have to respect the guy who has been there through it all, the one who knows how to put a smile on when things just don’t go according to plan. Who better exemplifies this than Clark Griswold in “Christmas Vacation?” Take, for instance, the scene when his cousin-in-law Eddie shows up to his old-fashioned family Christmas:

Eddie: “You surprised to see us, Clark?”

Clark: “Oh, Eddie … If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am now.”

3. Let’s give Dad the benefit of the doubt here and admit that he may have actually been as cool as his glory day stories imply. He had fun, went to college parties and lived on the edge. And he gave that up for soccer practice, bedtime stories and a full-time job to support a family. That’s a pretty serious sacrifice — something that we appreciate, especially since we now know what it’s like to only have to take care of ourselves. We should always take time to appreciate those dads who, even though they may seem frustrated at times, are so selfless that they actually don’t regret trading in kegs and late night drunk food for raising a family. We might as well call them Mr. Incredible:

Mr. Incredible in “The Incredibles”: “I’m sorry. I’ve been a lousy father, blind to what I have. So obsessed with being undervalued that I undervalued all of you. So … caught up in the past that I … You are my greatest adventure.”

4. If you’ve ever had a father figure to encourage you, then you know that his supportive words have been as important to your success as Christopher Gardner’s words in “The Pursuit of Happyness:”

“You got a dream … You gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go get it. Period.”

5. And then there’s this infamous line, where we are reminded of how wise our dads actually are. In one of his last conversations with Peter Parker (a.k.a. Spiderman), Uncle Ben reminds him:

“Remember that with great power, comes great responsibility.”

If we have been lucky enough to have an amazing dad or father figure in our lives, we have the responsibility to appreciate and celebrate him. Happy Dad’s Weekend.

Maggie is a senior in LAS. She can be reached at [email protected].