The obvious difference is that Lester and Mia were taught two different lessons. Lester was taught not to be like the person he was before the plane crash and out-of-body experience (Anderson 311). The reason for this is because Williams wanted to show that “human beings become more themselves in death” (Anderson 314). Unlike Lester, Mia was taught that life choices are important. In If I Stay, Mia says, “Sometimes you make choices and sometimes choices make you.” What Mia means is that sometimes choices are made, but sometimes choices make a person change. RJ Cutler wanted to show that the most difficult choices can change a person's outlook on life. Not only were Lester and Mia's lessons two different lessons, but the life lessons were also taught differently. Lester's lesson was given to her so that she could end her out-of-body experience and join the dead. Lester “was completely cut off: she was dead” (Williams 9). Lester died before she could change herself in life. Williams wanted to demonstrate that “an individual's defining characteristics are fully realized in death and are shaped by his or her bad or good intentions” (Anderson 314). This means that Lester had to become a bad or good person due to his lifestyle before his death. Lester's characteristics shaped his personality and his purity in death. However, Mia's lesson gave her the chance to change her life