“Ladybird,” officially released on Nov. 3, 2017, and set in a post 9/11 Sacramento 2002, is a coming-of-age film that focuses on a teenage girl and her mother struggling to make and maintain a healthy relationship while trying to fit in with her peers at school. Christine McPherson, who prefers to be called Lady Bird — it’s her given name, she insists, in the sense that “it’s given to me, by me” — is a senior at a Catholic girls’ high school. She fights against her hard-working yet tough mother but soon realizes they have more similarities than she thought. The movie won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture in 2018 and is still talked about today. 

   Attending a Catholic high school, Ladybird longs to go to a college in a city “with culture” on the east coast instead of feeling stuck in California. Feeling this way, her mother constantly reminds her for being ‘ungrateful’ and ‘selfish’. Not only is she trying to find a healthy relationship with her mother, but she tries to help her father after he is diagnosed with depression. Throughout the film, Ladybird goes through experiences and troubles that high school students undergo, including conforming with the crowd, trying new things and thinking about her future. 

   She deals with the practical and spiritual project of becoming who she is with the mixture of self-assurance and insecurity. She is a dreamer but hypocritical; self-centered but generous; a leader but also a follower.

   I recommend this movie for anyone in need for some relaxation and a good laugh (or cry) during this quarantine.