Watch List: Second Week of April

Watch list for the week:
- The First Grader
- Ask Me Anything
- Charlie Barlett
- The World Before Her
- The Dark Matter of Love

The Right to an Education

Recently I watched The First Grader, a film directed by Justin Chadwick and released in 2010. The movie is based on a true story about an 84-year old Kenyan man who returns the primary school. Maruge, played by Oliver Litondo, was part of the Mau Mau tribe and had been a freedom fighter. He was captured by the British, was tortured, and then put detention camps for many years. The story was very captivating and inspirational; we followed the journey of an old man as he fought for his new legal right to get an education. He was very persistent and determined stating that if he did not learn to read than he would be no better than a goat. It had a very clear message about how important education was and how it is the only sure way out of poverty.
I also encourage you to find your own way to help in the World’s fight for education!Trailer for The First Grader Below:I loved the movie, as did my mother, we both cried a lot. It was absolutely beautiful and it had a happy ending which is always wonderful. It also inspired me to try and do something, which led me to some Internet research. I learned that the lack of supplies in countries make it very hard for children to get a valuable education. Could you imagine not having the money to buy a pencil? I came across Develop Africa, an organization that sends school supplies to different schools in parts of Africa. Please visit the website, even if you do not have supplies to donate, a donation to help mail the supplies to the children is greatly appreciated.
I learned to learned to appreciate the education I have gotten in the United States. Sometimes we forget that in many places of the world, free education is hard to get. While on the internet, I came across a viral photo set of children on their journey to school from around the world. View photos below! 
Donate to Develop Africa: [ X ]Watch The First Grader: [ X ]More photos of journeys to school: [ X ]

Does the World Need Another Movie Blog?

I have never really considered watching movies to be one of my hobbies, but as of recently I have really found movies to be one of my favorite pastimes. Since moving to Manhattan for college, I see my mom a lot less and it's been a hard change for both of us. Recently, I've been trying to come home on most weekends and we have started to really use those weekends to watch movies together.

We’re both Netflix addicts but I also use Amazon as a rental system very often. Movies are a way for us to bond but we also using them as a way to inspire change. I have a new love for movies that I can’t vividly recall having during childhood. I have even gained an interest in animation and an appreciation for documentaries. I’m an easy to please movie watcher but every movie sparks something inside of me and I wanted to share that on a blog.

Though there are many other movie review blogs out there, this will be something different. I will try to be more focused on the ideas or inspiration caused after the movie, rather than the review. Movies won a place in my heart that I would love to share with others. I’ve really learned the value of important things and can see myself growing as a person because of movies. I have been keeping a list of movies I’ve seen since the start of the New Year and will post the link below.