Frankie had no idea, taking turns with Frank would require such a long wait!
Subjects: Guidance
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Super Pack – All 3 Titles
In the documentary-style film, middle school aged children share their personal stories of what its like to transition from elementary to middle school. Viewers will hear from children who are going into middle school and those who have already been attending. This challenging time is captured in their engaging stories about navigating new classes, having to use lockers for the first time, dealing with pressure to get good grades, worrying about fitting in and much more. Viewers will be left with a feeling of hope and an understanding that they are not alone in their feelings about transitioning to middle school.
Inlcudes: “Getting a Grip on Middle School“, “Surviving the Middle School Social Scene“, and “Problems Solved: Advice from Middle Schoolers“.
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Getting a Grip on Middle School
In the documentary-style film, middle school aged children share their personal stories of what its like to transition from elementary to middle school. Viewers will hear from children who are going into middle school and those who have already been attending. This challenging time is captured in their engaging stories about navigating new classes, having to use lockers for the first time, dealing with pressure to get good grades, worrying about fitting in and much more. Viewers will be left with a feeling of hope and an understanding that they are not alone in their feelings about transitioning to middle school.
Chapters include: My Biggest Fear, What’s Different, Expectations, New Classes and The Best Part.
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Surviving the Middle School Social Scene
In the documentary-style film, middle school aged children share their personal stories of what its like to transition from elementary to middle school. Viewers will hear from children who are going into middle school and those who have already been attending. This challenging time is captured in their engaging stories about navigating new classes, having to use lockers for the first time, dealing with pressure to get good grades, worrying about fitting in and much more. Viewers will be left with a feeling of hope and an understanding that they are not alone in their feelings about transitioning to middle school.
Chapters include: Meeting New People, Fitting In, Lunch Time, Getting to Class, Independence & Pressure.
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LGBTQ Acceptance: Joey’s Story
When reaching puberty at the age of 12, Joey was coming to the realization that that he was gay. Within his school and community, Joey felt that he was the one gay teenager. This terrified him. He confided in a “friend” who soon spread the word around school. Joey became the target of bullying and ridicule. Then it happened at home. His father could not accept that his son was gay and abandoned the family. Soon after, his mother abandoned him as well, leaving him to live with his “unaccepting” grandparents. He was alone in the world. The only way out, so he thought, was to take his own life. This is Joey’s heartbreaking story.
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Stress & Cultural Expectations: Eileen’s Story
Eileen’s family emigrated from China to North America to create a new life for the children. The Chinese family culture and dynamics were important in the household. Eileen found it difficult to fit in with her peers and she was heavily relied upon at home for chores. She was also pushed hard to excel at school and placed in a school for advanced education. Unfortunately, at a young age, she was sexually molested and kept it a deep dark secret. Her self-identity would develop into a critical low level of self-esteem and alienation from any social life. High school was a nightmare. She found a message of hope from an unusual source and decided that, prior to entering university, she would transform her life with an ultimate spiritual and physical makeover.
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Addiction in First Nations: Lindsay’s Story
Lindsay (Eekwol) grew up in the First Nations community. She experienced an unforgiving world of drugs, alcohol, and violence within her family. As a child, she lived in fear while her parents and their friends had endless parties that often broke out in fights. As she grew up in this environment, she soon developed into an abuser of drugs and alcohol herself. She fell victim to blackouts and, on one occasion, almost died lying unconscious on the highway. This seminal moment caused her devoted sister to give up on her – unless she changed her ways. For the first time in her life, she listened, and the path of being clean and sober led to becoming a successful solo female aboriginal hip hop artist.
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Depression & Eating Disorder: Sterling’s Story
At the age of 13, Sterling was a cheerleader and cross country runner. After her uncle commented that she was getting a roll around her belly, Lindsay became obsessed with her weight. She stopped eating and, when she did eat, purging was the only option. She was losing weight beyond what was normal while still competing and running until the point where she mutilated herself and ending up in an institution. Lindsay was 5’7″ and weighed 95 pounds. Her body started to shut down. She stopped menstruating and the doctors warned her that she may never be able to have children. Her miraculous recovery is truly an inspiring story to all youth. The moral of this story: “One small unkind word can have devastating effects on another person’s life.”
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Depression & Self-harm: Brittany’s Story
At the age 14, following a quarrel with a friend from school, Brittany turned to her mother for comfort. Instead of comforting her, Brittany’s mother lashed out at her, calling her selfish. From that day on, Brittany began to internalize her feelings. Her insecurities grew and she turned to drugs and alcohol. At a party with friends from school, her excessive drinking led to sexual abuse. This made things worse. She began to engage in self-harm practice, cutting her arms regularly. The more depressed she got, the worse the self-inflicted harm became until she was hospitalized for it.
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Identifying Transgender: David’s Story
As far back as David can remember, he did not identify with being a little girl. He wished he were a boy. Depression and anxiety set in and it just got worse until puberty hit and he could no longer deal with it. He told his parents that he identified with being a boy and he couldn’t go on any longer. The moment he changed his name to David and decided that he is male, life started making sense. Happiness set in like he had never experienced and, with his parents’ and sister’s support, David has finally found comfort in his life choice as transgender.