Over 500 women and girls gathered at Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church to watch the documentary Finding Kind and discuss the problem of drama among female youth on February 23.
The film, which was produced in 2010 by recently graduated Pepperdine students, Lauren Parsekian and Molly Thompson, follows the producers as they travel cross-country, interviewing girls, women, and experts on what its like in “girl world.” Parsekian and Thompson hope to spread their message of kindness and mutual understanding nationwide.
Said event director Julie Walker, “Everyone, every single person can identify with this experience, whether we’ve seen it or experienced it. It’s lifelong; you can recall it so freshly.”
Walker, who was drawn to the documentary when she saw an ad for it in a magazine, said she believes it’s a real problem in the Moraga community. It was inspired, Walker said, “because we are seeing girl on girl meanness younger and younger…as young as second grade. That was the whole reason.”
Walker believes the presentation hit home for many audience members. “It surpassed my personal expectations. It was dead-on, and it was real,” she said.
Mary Beth Ward, Miss California, USA 2012 contestant and Campo alumnus, spoke at the event about the drama she encountered growing up. Said Ward, “It definitely shaped what I want to do with my future…its basically given me a different outlook on what I want for my career.”
According to Ward, girl drama is a vicious cycle that’s hard to break. “One bad thing happens to one person and because of that she goes and takes it out on someone else and it just keeps going on and on.”
The message is universal; all girls can relate, even here at Campo. Sophomore Hannah Grubbs remembers her experience in middle school, recalling, “I was mean to people and people were mean to me and it needs to change. This documentary can help that.”
