samantha carrico

I loved this movie. Even though I can't relate to the culture, I can relate to being a cringy 13 year old girl. We are really out here acting like that lol. It was kind of nice to compare to some of my memories and think back to those times with my friends (most of whom I am still close with at 22). I think a lot of hate people give to this film is honestly because it isn't the kind of film we see a lot. Usually "cringy teen girl" isn't shown in a positive light and the stuff teenage girls like, such as boy bands and soft animals, are seen as weird or made fun of a lot. This movie really asks the audience to take those experiences at face-value and understand that it is all part of growing. Guarantee every single person watching this has a cringy memory from middle school and I encourage you to look back on it and smile and laugh. Yeah, it was probably embarrassing but it was fun back then right? I'm a middle school teacher now and seeing kids making those memories is my favorite part of the job. Are my 7th graders probably going to regret wearing matching "I ♡ my bf/gf" sweatshirts every single day for 2 months? Big time. The kid who dyed their hair with kool-aid and it is super patchy? 100%. But it's cute and silly, that's how kids are at this age! I think a big part of the issue people have with this film is also how unapologetic it is about things like periods and how pervy teen girls can be. Periods?? Happen???? To so many people???? Everyday?? What a concept. Teen girls shouldn't feel embarrassed about a normal bodily function and nobody should think periods are "gross" or "inappropriate" for them to talk about. I thought that including periods was rather refreshing since you never see them in movies except for comedy purposes or a Carrie situation. Also, people who thought her drawing were way out of line. I discovered Wattpad at 13. Enough said. Overall, adorable movie with a lot of nostalgia value for me. Even if I can't relate to some aspects of the culture, I can appreciate that and learn about others and the experiences that I've seen many people relating to.