What I Learned in Detention…

The beauty of movies is their ability to tell the story of a generation. As a kid of the 80’s, we had a lot of those- Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Sixteen Candles, ET, and the whole slew of Star Wars movies. But, while all of those are good, albeit amazing, one 80’s movie stands above the rest…The Breakfast Club. And today {gulp}, that movie turns 30.

As a parent of adolescent kids, one of the things I have learned is that the same “kid issues” that existed 30 years ago, ironically are still the same today. The beauty of the 80’s movies is not only are they still completely applicable, but I think they do it WAY better than movies in the last decade! And why is this one the best? Because it covers bullying, and nerds, and the popular girl, and the jock, and the freak, and it shoves them all into the same space with {eeek- no technology} and makes them find a way to relate to each other. And you know what, they do- and not just because its a movie, and all the problems have to be solved in 90 mins. But because in real life, we all have the same issues. Sure, maybe they take on a different name, or a different description, but in the end, we all struggle with feeling like we may not be good enough, or make enough money, or workout enough, or are smart enough. It starts in high school, and ends right about a place called… social media.

What I love about talking with my friends and clients, is finding out we all have the same struggles. Sure, for some of us, certain days may be better, or worse than others. But in the big picture, at the end of the day, we all have moments where we feel not quite good enough, and moments where we feel like the “king of the world”. So, internet world, when you meet someone today, smile a little brighter, hold that door for someone a second longer, because in the end, we are all in detention together….so, don’t you forget about me…

Here is a fun link about one of the greatest movies of the 80’s generation…