When watching the movie about the nine girls the one story that really stuck out to me was the first little girl named Wadley. She was a Haiten child of the dump when an earthquake struck and they were left with nothing. Even before the earthquake, they will still living in poverty for generations. The one thing about this that inspired me the most was that she still tried going to school even with everything she had going on in her life as in doing chores for her mother and working. Even when they turned her down, she still stayed because she wanted to learn. The urge she had for learning was so amazing, it made me think about my children. Sometimes I feel as if they just don't want it and don't understand that with an education, it will take them so far. I wish I could show just this part of the story to my students and then maybe they will see how blessed they are to be receiving an education and want to try harder. Wadley is still to this day in school even after getting turned away every time. It is so great to see motivation like that in such a little girl.
Another story that really touched me was about Mariama from Sierra Leone. She started out talking about how she is just a normal girl living a normal life and even added in that she texts! The only difference was that she was the first of her family to not only go to school but work at a radio station. She was able to take something she not only loves but is learning about and put it into her life as a radio station host. When her father told her she could not do it anymore she fought for what she wanted. He would not budge for a little but he finally let her go back. I think by working as a teenager already really sets up her life for her because if you can start at such a young age, she will definitely be ready for the real world. Even today she is still hosting her radio show and getting ready to take college eligibility exams. The fact that not only is she using what she learns in school but is also doing what she loves and is good at is a huge part in educating children. I think if they know they are good at something they will want to do it but if they know they are not good at something they will not want to do it. Here is where positivity comes in. Mariama was positive in herself to go back to do what she loves and thats how I want my children to feel coming into class. I try to make it as fun as possible every day to the point where they want to come to school.
The last one that really touched me was about Yasmin from Egypt. She went through something so life changing but somehow made it into an incredible story about how she was not the victim here, but the superhero. With such a little girl going through something as horrible as rape, its not a surprise her mind tried to think of something else because she would have been too scared to anything with her life if she did not. This little girl puts all the different stereotypes about men being stronger than girls when she explains how she escaped from the man. Knowing that this little girl was able to stand up for herself makes me feel as if I can do anything and not only myself in general but girls.
This movie has opened my eyes to actually see what is going on in other countries. Seeing girls not only going through such tragedy but overcame them by themselves gives me hope that one day the girls that I will have in my classroom will stand up for themselves too if they have to. Wadley, Mariama and Yasmin all had people that were trying to push them away from education but the girls were the ones that hung onto it and never let it go. Wadley never stopped trying to go to school even when she got to to leave, Mariama keep pushing for her to keep on doing what she loves and Yasmin made sure to use whatever imagination she had to put such a tragedy into a hero story. By giving an education to more girls like this, there will be less disasters for others to go through in these countries. By giving them an education they will know how to handle these situations on their own without anyone to help them. By watching these videos, it should not only open up boys eyes but also the girls to see what she can do. We are trying to remove these disasters to happen again so we must remove these barriers by giving the students an education.
