Everyone has a story...

One of the things I worry about as a mom with teenaged kids is that they won't have the ability to look past the exterior of a person and understand that everyone has a story.  That what someone does, how they dress, act, joke, decisions they make- all may be due to something in their past.  My kids are good kids, it's not that- it's just that teens have a tendency to judge harshly, and usually on looks alone.   Combine that with some serious ego-centricity and you have quite the cocktail for being a bully.

This week we bought the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  Anne had already read the book on her own, but I really didn't know much about it.  My generations teen movie was The Breakfast Club.  Similar themes, but this generations movie addressed issues we wouldn't have dreamed of talking about.  So we sat together in the living room and watched.

Wow.

Lesson hit home in a big way for our kids. Now I will worn you- this movie deals with some heavy issues like drugs, sex, and suicide.  But as a conversation starter it is pretty epic.   One line that hit home with me was when Charlie says, "We accept the love we think we deserve".  So true.

I walked into my daughter's room a little later and she was listening to music and crying.  "It's just so sad", she said, "how that kid had gone through all of that and no one really knew him."  She continued with, "It makes you think about the kids you see all day- you don't really know their story."

Bingo.