GRACE UNPLUGGED - A  Great Family movie! If you're a father who has teenage children- like me- watch this film.  
You'll learn (as I did- not from this film- but from past experience), that as our children grow, we have to give them more space. Yes, because sometimes, the only way children learn is from their own experiences- even from their mistakes. In fact, an old Italian saying says: "Sbagliando s'impara", meaning: "We learn from your mistakes." 

As a matter of fact, we all make mistakes in life, and as parents when we raise our kids, however, our mistakes can help us- we lcan earn from them- and hopefully improve as parents. I have seen it in my experience (I have two children, one girl 25, and a boy 17); I have learned to listen before I make conclusions, and I stopped being judgmental. 

I have learned to accept our children as they are, because not too long ago, I finally realized that they can't possibly be exactly as me, or as I would like them to be. But that be boring?! Besides, God doesn't make copy cats! He doesn't make copies, and/or robots! God wants everyone to be free, because in freedom we can show our true self, our love for our children, for our parents, our family members, our friends, and for others.

This film is the story of a teenage girl who plays guitar in her father's church band. But, the two don't see eye-to-eye (they do not agree, don't get along). He, the father, wants her daughter to stick (follow) everything that he says/does during their performances. He also puts too many expectations on her daughter- he is too strict and too critical. He expect her to be perfect, in her music and in her life. That's too demanding for a teenager, and in fact the young lady leaves her home and moves to L.A. (Los Angeles). Her dream is to become a famous singer. I do not want to spoil (ruin) the story, so the rest of it, you'll have to find out yourself. My wife and I enjoyed it.

This essay © Copyrighted by Ottavio Lo Piccolo. April 25, 2015. All rights reserved. No part of this writing may be copied or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the authors’ written permission. Classroom teachers may copy individual articles with the images included in each piece, but only for instructional purposes and only for their classroom students. Images are from Google images, unless otherwise specified.
Italian: 
Diritti d'autore esclusi solo all'autore Ottavio Lo Piccolo, 25 aprile, 2015. Per publicazione intere e/o parziali richiedere il pemesso scritto dall'autore.