In 1997, director James Cameron made a splash into blockbuster history taking a then 23-year-old dreamboat Leonardo DiCaprio, gorgeous then-22-year-old Kate Winslet and ground-breaking computer graphics to make a 194-minute emotionally tragic love story on a boat with a PG-13 rating: “Titanic.”

I was 9 years old when “Titanic” originally hit theaters in December 1997 and I was dying to see it. I wanted to learn about the sinking of the boat, the way I did in school. I wanted to see the love story unfold on the silver screen.

But my mom said, “No way.”

I was crushed, devastated even. It was as if my desire to see the movie was like “Titanic,” my mom was the iceberg and my dreams sank at the age of nine. I negotiated, begged and pleaded, but it was a no-go. My mom’s word was the final verdict.

I give my mom credit. She had an obligation as my mother to protect me from controversial material and maintain my youthful innocence. As the movie took on a PG-13 rating for its disaster scenes and sexual content, and I was not 13, the job became rather simple. No “Titanic” for her baby girl.

But Wednesday’s box office is giving me the opportunity to finally see the movie on the silver screen. “Titanic”  has risen from the bottom of the ocean to sail again, this time in 3-D.

Now I am 23. Not only am I old enough, mature enough and have no need for parental supervision to see the movie, I get to avenge the 9-year-old me.

This Friday night, in my own personal schedule, I will get to experience the magic what I could not experience nearly 15 years ago. I will get to watch Rose dance and fall in love with the poor artist Jack. I will get to cry during Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” and cry even harder when Rose speaks the famous lines “I’ll never let go, Jack” as she releases Jack to the frozen abyss. I will get the chance to experience the 15-year-old movie with its modern spin into the third dimension.

“Titanic” is much more than a movie. It’s an opportunity to return to my childhood and experience something I missed out on the first time. Just like when I saw the original “Star Wars” trilogy when it was re-released in theaters, I get a do-over. I get the chance to watch the movie the way it was intended – not on my barely-working VHS player at my parents’ house, but on a big screen, with low-lighting and perhaps 100 other vengeful 20-somethings.

It is dumb and petty to want to see it to spite my mother, and perhaps a relapse into my 9-year-old ways. However, I am excited to watch it with my two roommates, who are avenging their younger selves as well. I am not sure how I will enjoy watching a movie in 3-D. I personally do not see what is wrong with the simple, standard way of viewing movies, but perhaps this will add to the magic and make this a more memorable viewing. “Titanic” in 3-D will capture the moment I missed 15 years ago and create a new moment.

And to my mother, who always kissed my boo-boos, cheered me on during basketball games and actively seeks out and reads all my articles, I love you dearly. However, this time around, I think I’ll take the $20 dad gave me and go see “Titanic.”