6 Lessons 'Margarita With a Straw' Can Teach Us About Disability
My cousin recently recommended I watch a film that was released a few years back: “Margarita With a Straw.” I was skeptical at first, because it seemed like just another cheesy movie that inaccurately portrayed a person with a disability. However, I quickly found I was wrong. This lesser-known film actually contains six beautiful life lessons I believe we can all benefit from.
1. No obstacle should stop you from pursuing your dreams.
In “Margarita With a Straw,” Laila, a young woman from India, dreams of attending school in New York City so she can pursue a journalism career. Although her journey includes many obstacles, she makes her dreams come true anyway.
2. It’s never too late to start the journey of self-discovery.
Throughout the film, Laila has a hard time discovering who she is. However, the people she encounters along the way show her that it’s never too late to start your journey towards self-love.
3. People will like you if you just show them your true colors.
Laila meets different people throughout the film. These people all love her and offer her a helping hand. Although she doesn’t believe it at first, Laila attracts all of these kind, caring people because of her sweet, loving personality. You attract what you put out, and that shows in “Margarita With a Straw.”
4. Never judge a book by its cover.
Although Laila battles physical challenges, she has many talents. Never judge someone based on their appearance or their limitations. After all, you never know what talents that person may hold inside.
5. Never let people take advantage of you or pity you.
At the beginning of the story, Laila and her friends win a contest out of pity, not merit. Laila stands up for herself and tells the judge to back off. It’s important that we recognize when people treat us unfairly or discriminate against us and take a stand. Nobody deserves discrimination, but we also don’t enjoy people taking pity on us.
6. Everyone has a story to share.
Through her own strength and courage, Laila finds a way to share her story. Although we may come from different backgrounds, we can all learn from each other and we all have a beautiful story to share with the world. We can share our stories and help others along the way.
As you can tell, “Margarita With a Straw” isn’t just another B-movie from the mid-2000s. If you haven’t seen this delightful film yet, I highly encourage you to check it out and take in the lessons it provides.
Image via Vimeo.
Tylia L. Flores is a twenty-eight-year-old born with Spastic Cerebral Palsy. Despite her condition that affects her mobility, she does not allow it to affect her will and determination to make a difference in the world. Through her many life challenges and obstacles, she discovered her passion for writing. Tylia’s goal in life is to share her stories with the world. In doing so, she hopes to help others with disabilities realize that they, too, have the potential to make their dreams come true. Tylia is not only an author. She’s a radio show personality and a disability activist. Tylia has written about disability-related topics for Yahoo Life, Your Tango, The Mighty, ReadUnwritten.com, Words Between Coasts Project, Wednesday, Spilwords, and Goble Thrive. Worth Living Among her other appearances are Disability on the Spectrum and Why I was Afraid of Sexuality. Previously, Tylia was nominated to Diversabilities list of the most influential Disability Impacts of 2022. Additionally, Tylia holds the position of chairman in the creative director role for the North American Association Of Cerebral Palsy Advocates. She serves as a mentor for the Disability EmpowHer Network as well. Tylia also works for Write It Up Publishing as a sensitivity reader focusing on disability representation. Tylia has also been involved in many movie press releases for Samuel Goldwyn Films Come as you are Piece of me which was the short film directed and written by award winning filmmaker Bruna Cabral as well as the film adaptation of the book Calvin can’t fly by Jenifer Burnes Tylia is also a keynote speaker at 2020’s Cerebral Palsy Awareness conference. She has also been a guest speaker at Northeastern State University Broken Arrow where she talks to college students about disability and inclusion in education. She has also been a guest speaker at Plantation Middle School, where she discussed inclusion and disability with classmates. Tylia is fully certified in Education for All: Disability, Diversity, and Inclusion through Cape Town University. She’s also certified in Understanding Diversity and Inclusion through Purdue University. She’s also certified in creative writing at the University of East Anglia. Tylia hosts the Stomping On cerebral Palsy radio show with DJ Ty on Asheville FM with DJ Mouse during the Come On In the Kitchen segment once a month she also helps the staff behind the scenes, help bring awareness to disability awareness and inclusion within the radio broadcasting industry .
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