Heya playa, I just watched the movie Eighth Grade and I had a lot of different thoughts
and feelings about it walking out of the theater, mainly what does it mean to be transitioning
from middle school into high school?
What does it mean to be in the process of discovering yourself?
What does it mean to be liked by others and a few other things that I'm gonna cover right
after this.
For those of you that are new here, my name is Josh and every single Monday through Friday
I make videos sharing tips, ideas and stories teaching you how to be your best self now
if you ask anyone that is older, they're gonna tell you that their middle school years were
probably the most awkward years of their life.
Everyone's got braces and acne, girls are growing boobs, guys are getting really really
tall, everyone's getting hairy in different places.
It's just a weird mess of an age.
And I think the movie Eighth Grade does a great job at really capturing that weird awkward
stage of our life.
Now what's really cool is that the movie gives us a snapshot of kids today, what it means
to be an eighth grader in today's generation.
Now I want to keep this spoiler free but I am going to mention certain topics and themes
that the movie does touch upon.
And the first one that really stood out to me is that social media is life.
If you think about your identity, chances are your social media profiles showcase more
of who you are rather than who you display in person with other people.
Granted, that social media persona might not always be the real you but I think what's
shown in the movie is that we use things like Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook to get validation
from others.
And I think the reason why we do that is because everyone else is doing it too.
So if you're shy and timid, the next best thing to do is to make an online profile and
put yourself out that way.
But, as it's shown in the movie, having this really cool and fun online persona doesn't
always translate into real life.
And I know this because I've spoken to so many of you guys before.
You tell me that you're shy and you're nervous and then I check out your profile and there
are all these fun active videos so there's an incongruence with how you display yourself
in person and how you display yourself online.
Another thing the movie really highlights in a ton of different fun scenes is this desire
to be loved and accepted by your crush.
The main character Kayla has a huge crush on this other eighth-grade guy and throughout
the movie, there are these different scenes where she's building up her confidence in
talking to him and approaching him only to realize later on that he has a different perspective
and agenda than she does.
The movie gets into some weird sexual territories that I'm sure a lot of eighth graders haven't
even explored yet but feel that pressure from everyone else around them to be more sexual.
There are a lot of different types of relationships explored in the movie, Kayla's relationship
with her father, with the popular girls, with her crush, with older kids, and I think as
eighth graders kind of navigate and transition through those awkward phases and relationships
of their lives, it's important for them to have a relationship and guide that can really
help carry them through it.
That's really the main reason why I wrote the book Embracing The Awkward, I wanted to
kind of share my personal experience and give advice on what you can do to navigate these
different types of relationships you have, in school, in life and anywhere else you encounter
them.
In the book I explore lots of different topics like overcoming rejection, being more compassionate,
creating healthy relationships, just building confidence overall and of course embracing
the awkward you experience in life.
If you're interested in checking out the book, I'm gonna put the link down there in the description
below or you can tap it when it appears on the screen at the end of the video.
But I want to tell you guys about my most favorite scene in the entire movie, it was
really a small scene but it had so much weight to it and that was the karaoke scene.
Without really spoiling it for you guys, one of the biggest takeaways I had from this movie
was seeing a character go from being awkward to confident.
I think it's so important to work on building confidence and that's one of the points that
she addresses in the movie.
Kayla talks about how confidence is not something that we're born with, it's something we only
learn through practice.
We need to put ourselves in situations where we can demonstrate that confidence.
To learn how to handle them better and to figure out what works for us and to carry
that knowledge forward.
And I think that scene is so powerful because I know so many middle schoolers that are just
so unsure of themselves, afraid to put themselves out on display because they're afraid others
are going to judge them.
But sometimes, being confident is doing what you want.
Putting yourself forward and just letting others accept that.
And I would say my main take away from the movie Eighth Grade is to learn how to love
yourself.
The main character Kayla goes on this journey throughout the movie really coming into being,
developing her confidence and discovering who she is and really growing to like that.
I know that's the journey that you're on too and I know it can be scary and awkward sometimes
but I want you to know that you're loveable for who you are, you are someone worth caring
about and I know you might not feel that right now, you might feel like a loser, you're not
cool, you don't have any friends, you're not gonna be popular when you get into your next
grade, but trust me on this.
You're someone that matters, don't ever forget that.
But now I want to know, what do you think?
Are you going to check out the movie Eighth Grade in theaters?
Are you gonna wait for it to come out on Netflix to watch it?
Or do you just think it doesn't really capture eighth grade life as you know it as best as
it can?
Leave your comments down below and we'll talk about it.
On that note guys, thank you so much for watching.
If you enjoyed the video hit the thumbs up button and definitely tap on the playlist
right there on your screen which will take you to my middle school videos helping you
navigate through all different types of circumstances and situations you'll run into.
You can also tap on my book right there, it'll take you over to Amazon where you can order
it, read it guys I think it'll be super helpful for you whether you're in middle school, high
school or college so check it out, check out the movie Eighth Grade and I'll catch you
guys tomorrow.
As always, love and peace.