Girls Trip…Life Lessons
By, Ascellia M. Arenas
I’m sure after you watched “Girls Trip,” you didn’t think that you would walk away with life lessons that would help you design a path for the rest of your life. The movie starts off with the women living their individual lives, after graduating from college, having settled into their own families, and career paths. It is quite evident that the women are over the age of 40 and have an appreciation for life that women of a particular age do not have, yet. The type of appreciation shown by these ladies doesn’t usually manifest in women until after turning 40 years old, I digress. How does watching “Girls Trip,” change your life? Follow me…
1. Plan a trip/vacation with NO MEN ALLOWED. Sometimes you need to disconnect just to get back to yourself. If men show up along the way…remember who the guest list originally included. Plan a “baecation” for different time.
2. Eat the cake. You only live once. Stop being so uptight.
3. Everybody can’t be in VIP. Who said having VIP status to everything you attend actually makes you important? Chill Sis, it’s totally okay to be regular sometimes.
4. If he treats you bad, I’m speaking up. As your friend, I can’t co-sign anybody doing things that are hurtful to you. I’m going to tell you that it’s not cool and ultimately it will be your choice to take action, even if that action is to not speak to me for a little while.
5. Chemistry is real. There’s a reason why that person makes you feel a certain type of way. Trust your instincts.
6. Puerto Rican Grandmothers are cute. Let them rock their outfits & flavor in peace. Understand your body and what looks good on you. Everything ain’t for everybody.
7. Grapefruit is good. Grapefruit is great. Just be careful. Everything is good in moderation. Except crack…don’t do the crack.
8. If you know your friend lives her whole entire life on the wild side, proceed with caution. You can observe, you can even participate a little, just make sure neither one of you ends up in the hospital or jail as a result of shared shenanigans. Be a friend, not a judge & jury.
9. If you go out together, come back together. Everybody is grown, yes…but, at least make the effort to communicate a plan of action. If she catches a big fish, help her pull it in the boat; then go downstairs to the lobby for early breakfast, or a snack, or something…😏✊🏾
10. Fight fair. Trust that your friend is who she says she is. Nobody is perfect, everybody makes mistakes. The real test in relationships is in the ability to adjust your sails and keep going.
11. Encourage your friends to be who you know they are, all of the time. Reflect back sincere encouragement and support. If your friends aren’t supporting your vision & dreams, especially where your talent is clearly evident/thriving; then, why are you friends?
12. It’s all fun and games until somebody starts hallucinating.
13. Make sure to pack a variety of wigs and shades (disguises) because… the internet.
14. Girls from FAMU have it all…brains, beauty, hustle, loyalty, style, grace & will blow up the spot if somebody gets it twisted.
“Girls Trip,” starring Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Tiffany Haddish, directed by Malcolm D. Lee and written by Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver, is in theaters now. The film has broken the myth that black females can’t lead a comedy, that a rated “R” comedy can’t exceed box office goals, while proving that Black Girl Magic IS alive and well. Organize an outing with your girlfriends to go see it to support box office receipts. Then, go back by yourself so that you catch anything you may have missed while you and your crew were literally laughing raucously out loud. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film 89% (a high B+ average), Cinema Scope gave it an A+, box office reports that opening weekend garnered over $30 million dollars in ticket sales. Big congratulations to my classmate, Will Packer, for making his mark in Hollywood and may he experience continued success!
Cellibration 