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Did anybody see this last night on Channel 1? It was simply one of the best films I've seen in a LONG time. It was really, just amazing. I'm not sure if it was actually based on a true story or not because I missed the first 10 minutes but whether it was or not it was really inspiring.
It was based around the story of a young girl, born into a family of drug addicts and alcoholics,...
Spoilers start--------
...she overcame it all to winning a scholarship from the New York Times to Harvard.
All her life she had regarded herself as "trash" being forced to pay for her parents lives of sin. Her father contracted Aids and lived in a shelter home and her mother also had aids, but lived with her father. Both parents eventually got clean but her mother was dying at a phenomonal rate. She was going blind, was a desperate alcohoic and should have been bed bound with the degree of Aids she had. She had no more than a few days left to live when she was still down at the pub getting drunk.
Her daughter had taken care of her mother all her life. She couldn't go to school after the 8th grade and didn't return until she was 16. Her mother was her baby. She had to bath her, put her to bed and take care of her. No one else cared for the problems of a worthless old woman like her and noone cared for her. After being forced to leave the house of her grandad she became homeless. On the streets at 16. Until she got back to reality when her beloved mother died. She may not have been the best mother in the world but in a world that had given this girl and her family no support or security she was all she had in life.
Her mother had always wanted her to stay in school. She was a bright young girl and had potential but her background had always caused her to simply never turn up for school. To make her mother proud though she enrolled at a school for disadvantaged youths. She took 10 subjects in 2 years and still graduated at the top of her class except you were supposed to do 10 over 4 years and they weren't expecting you to be working to eat at the same time as you're living on the streets. It was truly a remarkable story.
"I think the world has a skin, some people are born underneath it, they can see through it but they can never get to it"
She says thisat one point and it really highlighted how the social boundaries of our society force people of great potential to be nothing more than beggers. Graduating at the top of her year though. You'd think that would open doors? Well it would if she could afford to go through them.
"The skin was so close I could feel it"
She says this again when she goes to Harvard on an all expenses paid trip as part of the top 10 students of that school. She looked like a lost little girl expecting her Mum to come and take her by the hand but no. She was in the real world now and she had this opportunity to make it on her own if only she could get the money.
This is when she enters a competition at the New York Times for a scholarship programme of $12,000 a year for 4 years. The question was "Write a brief essay on your achievements and what ostacles you have overcome to achieve them". It was like a godsent. After writing a heart felt essay telling the story of her disadvantaged life she was finally given the chance to be like all the other people she saw at Harvard. To reach her full potential and be more than what her parents and everyone around her thought she was destined to become.
She won. She was going to go to Harvard. She was going to go and study for 4 years at the greatest university in America. She had made it, she had broken through the skin and could live a rich life on top of the world with Americas elite. She had gone from rags to riches in what you would think was a cliché documentary movie but was actually a beautifuly told story of triumph over adversity in our modern day world. Liz graduated in 2003 and is now living her life that she has worked so hard to achieve. She earned the chance at a decent life.
Spoiler ends----------
I saw this film and I honest to god felt so uplifted and inspired it's fantastic it truly is. I would like to know if it is based on a true story if any of you could find that out for me. It was presented like it was but I have no idea. Either way I advise you all to see this film and you shant be dissapointed.
It was based around the story of a young girl, born into a family of drug addicts and alcoholics,...
Spoilers start--------
...she overcame it all to winning a scholarship from the New York Times to Harvard.
All her life she had regarded herself as "trash" being forced to pay for her parents lives of sin. Her father contracted Aids and lived in a shelter home and her mother also had aids, but lived with her father. Both parents eventually got clean but her mother was dying at a phenomonal rate. She was going blind, was a desperate alcohoic and should have been bed bound with the degree of Aids she had. She had no more than a few days left to live when she was still down at the pub getting drunk.
Her daughter had taken care of her mother all her life. She couldn't go to school after the 8th grade and didn't return until she was 16. Her mother was her baby. She had to bath her, put her to bed and take care of her. No one else cared for the problems of a worthless old woman like her and noone cared for her. After being forced to leave the house of her grandad she became homeless. On the streets at 16. Until she got back to reality when her beloved mother died. She may not have been the best mother in the world but in a world that had given this girl and her family no support or security she was all she had in life.
Her mother had always wanted her to stay in school. She was a bright young girl and had potential but her background had always caused her to simply never turn up for school. To make her mother proud though she enrolled at a school for disadvantaged youths. She took 10 subjects in 2 years and still graduated at the top of her class except you were supposed to do 10 over 4 years and they weren't expecting you to be working to eat at the same time as you're living on the streets. It was truly a remarkable story.
"I think the world has a skin, some people are born underneath it, they can see through it but they can never get to it"
She says thisat one point and it really highlighted how the social boundaries of our society force people of great potential to be nothing more than beggers. Graduating at the top of her year though. You'd think that would open doors? Well it would if she could afford to go through them.
"The skin was so close I could feel it"
She says this again when she goes to Harvard on an all expenses paid trip as part of the top 10 students of that school. She looked like a lost little girl expecting her Mum to come and take her by the hand but no. She was in the real world now and she had this opportunity to make it on her own if only she could get the money.
This is when she enters a competition at the New York Times for a scholarship programme of $12,000 a year for 4 years. The question was "Write a brief essay on your achievements and what ostacles you have overcome to achieve them". It was like a godsent. After writing a heart felt essay telling the story of her disadvantaged life she was finally given the chance to be like all the other people she saw at Harvard. To reach her full potential and be more than what her parents and everyone around her thought she was destined to become.
She won. She was going to go to Harvard. She was going to go and study for 4 years at the greatest university in America. She had made it, she had broken through the skin and could live a rich life on top of the world with Americas elite. She had gone from rags to riches in what you would think was a cliché documentary movie but was actually a beautifuly told story of triumph over adversity in our modern day world. Liz graduated in 2003 and is now living her life that she has worked so hard to achieve. She earned the chance at a decent life.
Spoiler ends----------
I saw this film and I honest to god felt so uplifted and inspired it's fantastic it truly is. I would like to know if it is based on a true story if any of you could find that out for me. It was presented like it was but I have no idea. Either way I advise you all to see this film and you shant be dissapointed.
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I watched it for the first time. Probably because I was only comparing her acting to American Beauty. But it was a good film. I think on the 'information' on Sky, it said something about helping people. Maybe it was one of those special programmes.. Good, though. Was thinking about buying it.
Tiltawhirl wrote:
> Yup, a definite made for TV Hallmark movie.
>
> While watching it Cubist, you weren't purchance smoking crack were
> you?
No, there was nothing in my system that would've impaired my judgement! *chucks Vodka bottle in bin*
> Yup, a definite made for TV Hallmark movie.
>
> While watching it Cubist, you weren't purchance smoking crack were
> you?
No, there was nothing in my system that would've impaired my judgement! *chucks Vodka bottle in bin*
Cub!st wrote:
> Spoilers start--------
PLEASE GOD, ANYTHING BUT SPOILING THE FILM FOR US ALL!
THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
> Spoilers start--------
PLEASE GOD, ANYTHING BUT SPOILING THE FILM FOR US ALL!
THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
Yup, a definite made for TV Hallmark movie.
While watching it Cubist, you weren't purchance smoking crack were you?
While watching it Cubist, you weren't purchance smoking crack were you?
I'm busy writing a version of Robotron for mobile devices but I saw this and have to comment.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Homeless To Harvard: The Liz Murray Story"
"It was simply one of the best films I've seen in a LONG time"
Bwhahahahahahaha. Bwahahahahahahahaha. (wipes tears from eyes). BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. (chokes)
Right, back to work.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Homeless To Harvard: The Liz Murray Story"
"It was simply one of the best films I've seen in a LONG time"
Bwhahahahahahaha. Bwahahahahahahahaha. (wipes tears from eyes). BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. (chokes)
Right, back to work.
Gingerbread Man: You're a monster *spits*
*unimpressed*
Borrrrrriiiiiinnnnngggg. Sorry but I'd rather watch paint dry.
Borrrrrriiiiiinnnnngggg. Sorry but I'd rather watch paint dry.
It's not as if there is only one scholarship program in existance. She won one by the New York Times and they were giving it to multiple people. She was number 6 I think. Anyway I found out it is a true story and if you ask me she bloody well deserved it.
Yup, Hallmark sh*te. real life stuff is boring when it's stuff like this. Besides, if she won that money to go to Harvard then loads of people must not have, hence never went, and are probably toilet cleaners/shelf stackers/pram pushers etc.
monkey_man wrote:
> Sounds like it belongs on the Hallmark Channel to me. There's one of
> these weepy, rags-to-riches stories on every night on that channel.
Yeh I know what you mean but I swear to god it was a lot more than that it was a really great film. I am not going to lie to you and say it looked like a proper hollywood film because to be honest it did look like it was made by a smaller production company but either way they had obviously invested a lot of money in it and it paid off brilliantly.
> Sounds like it belongs on the Hallmark Channel to me. There's one of
> these weepy, rags-to-riches stories on every night on that channel.
Yeh I know what you mean but I swear to god it was a lot more than that it was a really great film. I am not going to lie to you and say it looked like a proper hollywood film because to be honest it did look like it was made by a smaller production company but either way they had obviously invested a lot of money in it and it paid off brilliantly.
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