Being 20-something can be difficult. You moved from the tranquil waters of childhood to the choppy seas of adolescence and seem to have got stuck somewhere along the way. You're approaching the end of you career in education and therefore getting ready to face life completely without structure...for the first time ever. Terrifying, wha'? To add to that shit, you're metabolism seems to have ceased to function and your waist is expanding at an alarming rate plus your love life is restricted to Tinder weirdos and your hangovers are just...well, a joke to be honest. To help you navigate the brilliance and crappiness that is being a young woman in 2016, have a look at some of these illustrations of it on film. They'll make you feel muuuuccch better and much less alone because, we're honestly all just figuring it out as we go along.
1. Wish You Were Here (1987)
Set in a sleepy seaside town in early 1950s Britain, the movie follows fiery, spirited 16-year-old Linda who rebels against everything society expects of her. She shows that being who you really are is more important than comforting to society's expectations.
2. Splendour In The Grass (1961)
Warning: do NOT watch this movie if you are in the throes of first love. I made that mistake and cried my eyes out. A young and beautiful Natalie Wood falls in love at seventeen with the young and beautiful Warren Beatty. The movie shows first love in all of its luminance and ugliness...and reminds you that if you're not with someone, it just wasn't to be.
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3. Summer Of Love (2004)
Being a young woman is not easy. You're battling shifts in hormones, you're juggling choices that will impact on the rest of your life, you're getting to grips with your sexuality...this movie really explores all of that: the intensity of it all. Bonus: a young Emily Blunt is superb in this.
4. Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Based on Susanna Kaysens book, the movies follows 18-year-old Susanna after she is admitted to a psychiatric hospital for young girls. I think we can all relate to a hysterical Winona Ryder screaming "what the FUCK is going on inside my head?!"
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5. Me Without You (2001)
I watched this for the first time on a rainy Saturday night aged eleven with my four best friends. We thought we'd discovered something incredible. The movie starts in the dreamy 1970s and follows two BFFs - the studious Holly and the reckless Marina - throughout their childhoods, adolescence and college years until they reach adulthood. If you ever wanted to watch a terrifyingly accurate depiction of female friendship, please have a look at Me Without You.
6. Young At Heart (1954)
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Would we all be better off in 1952? Social roles are unrecognisable nowadays in comparison to the '50s. I think that it's important for a young woman of 2016 to watch this Doris Day/ Frank Sinatra drama. It covers the trials and tribulations of young Laurie's (the charming Day) life from falling in love for the first time to making a huge decision that will alter her life forever. The big message is this: sometimes the things you want aren't the things you need.
7. Diary Of a Teenage Girl
We've all been there: fifteen years old and dying to be part of the grown up world of kissing boys and having sex. The movie explores the life of 15 year old Minnie Goetze in 1970s San Francisco. She begins her tale with "My life's gotten kinda crazy of late. I had sex today." I dare anyone who watches this not to go rooting around for their teenage diary after watching this.
8. My Girl 2
It's the '70s, and Vada Sultenfuss is on a quest to find out mother about her deceased mother for a school paper. It's a heartfelt look at how lost we sometimes feel and how the thrill of first love makes it all worthwhile.
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9. My Best Friends Wedding
It's 1990s' Julia Roberts at her toothiest and Cameron Diaz at her cutest. Throw in a moody Dermot Mulrooney as the love interest and a flamboyant, scene-stealing Rupert Everett (everyone should watch it for the wedding rehearsal lunch scene alone) and you've got the perfect rom-com. However there's a slightly deeper message in here ladies: if you have feelings for your male BFF, tell him. Bite the bullet. Otherwise one day you'll watch him marry someone else and always wonder "what if?"
Video: Top 10 Girl Power Movies Everyone Should See
Credit: MsMojo
