The Wonder of it all

Last evening, I watched the movie called Wonder. I had seen the trailer and knew it was my kind of movie. Truth, heart-touching and real.

As soon as I got into the first few minutes; I knew I was going to be glued to it. It spoke to me. It reminded me of myself and so many others that look at themselves as I do.

I have always had to deal with something so petty as my looks. In elementary school, it was the saying of, fatty fatty, two by four, can’t get through the bathroom door.

In reality, I was not that heavy. I was chunky but not enough to be made fun of like I was. Kids can be so cruel, you know? Maybe there is a lot of insecurities among children and they just truly want to fit in, so making fun of others makes them stand out in the crowd; but only on a temporary basis.

I got made fun of because I began wearing glasses in the first grade. I had to start wearing a training bra younger than the other girls. The boys used to like to point that out by trying to snap the back of the bra when I leaned over the water fountain to get a drink.

What’s funny or odd about the situation was I had lots of friends. I fell in place immediately; but there were always those few who could make me an emotional wreck.

On Wonder, the young child was born with a less than a normal face. The movie honed in on what a child has to go through with his peers.

I give this movie, Wonder, a five star rating because, although the young man was teased and bullied, his parents and sister had love for this child and showed it continually throughout the movie. They showed their hearts and feelings. It was heart warming to also see the school stand by this student.

The brother had every reason to know and understand the love of a family.  They were there for him in every situation, letting him know, no matter what, they stood by him.

This has slowly slipped away from our families today. Busy schedules, working extra hours, not eating at the table as a family; all this creates distance from the family circle. Kids need to know, adults need to know, that they are wanted and cared about.

My parents worked too. I came home from school to an empty house, but there were many ways that they let me know I was loved.

I didn’t have that cement bond with my parents like the Leave it to beaver television show. That was an entertaining series, a perhaps hidden desire some of us carry on the inside, that we are the circle of attention each day.

i don’t believe life is really like that show, and I am very thankful for my own upbringing. Watching Wonder made me wish that every child in America could experience that love. I believe that bullying and killing and the lack of respect for your elders would not be a highlight on a TV news station.

I pray that the fear parents carry, wondering if their child will come home or will there be a killing today, vanishes from the mind. I don’t want a child to go to school having to be on guard each day for their safety.

I want children to be happy. To be educated, to play at recess, to fit in, and to have a well balanced life. I will continue these prayers until they are answered.

Anyways, go to Red Box and rent the movie. I think you will enjoy it as much as I did. Perhaps it will take you back to your childhood and make you even more grateful for your own upbringing.

Let me know friends, if you see this movie and what you thought of it.