What if This Is the Best Version?
Growing up in Sacramento, the heart of California, was an experience that I will never forget as I start to move on from my childhood years and move into adulthood. Like any other teenager, I found my hometown boring. Living in the nice, quiet suburbs surrounding Sacramento, but not actually living there--- because living in the city is not ideal for family life --- was a colorless, monotonous experience to say the least. Similar to the character of Ladybird in Greta Gerwig’s 2017 coming of age film, growing up in Sacramento was dull.
When news first broke out of an actual movie being filmed in my hometown of Sacramento, I think my first initial thought was, “Wait... Why?”
(Also disclaimer, If I am being honest, I didn’t grow up directly in Sacramento, I grew up in the surrounding cities, but Sacramento was the only “big city” around me, therefore I spent a lot of my childhood down there).
Continuing on, I always viewed the Sacramento area as a pretty plain town. I grew up in a pretty white suburb so it is more likely that my vision was skewed growing up. But, I feel like no matter what town you are in, as a teenager, you never feel that excitement and that coming-of-age feelings that you see in every teenage film ever. All coming-of-age films have done is warped my perception on what a teenagers life is supposed to feel like. With Ladybird it’s different, it creates a category of teenagers that can actually relate to her character. Her life isn’t shown with all happiness, parties, and that stereotypical life of a teenager. Instead, her estranged relationship with her mother is shown, her struggles of fitting in, being poor, etc. I think a movie like that is important. It makes teenagers feel real, because it balances those goods and bads in lifes, showing how we don’t really have it that easy.
Towards the end, Gerwig creates such a bittersweet ending to tie the film up and leave her audience in tears. The last scene where Ladybird leaves for college, across the country in New York, leaving on sour terms with her stubborn mother back in her hometown, she drives away from Sacramento, and finally sees it’s beauty within. The line, “Hey Mom, Did you feel emotional the first time that you drove in Sacramento?” will hit for every teenager transforming into adulthood. As you start to leave the city that you had always known, those familiar street signs and pavements and buildings that you used to not care about, has become a memory that you never want to forget.
Ladybird will always be a sentimental movie to me. Gerwig did an incredible job and Saoirse Ronan created such a relatable and unforgettable character with Ladybird. Just to have that Sacramento representation made me realize the beauty in this city and how underappreciated it was growing up. I didn’t have to have a spontaneous life to enjoy the city around me, this city had my back and as I start to pack my bags and leave it, I can’t help to feel nostalgic and emotional. Those bittersweet feelings of wanting to start fresh but also letting go of this familiarness and homeliness that made me feel safe overwhelm as I begin this new chapter of my life.