Everyone has a family thing. Some people go fishing or do art crafts together. Many watch some sport together or play it themselves. For my family, our thing was watching movies. Of course, we did other things, debate and travel were a big thing but watching movies are pivotal in our household.

Before I get into the saga that is Mamma Mia, let me first paint the picture a bit for you. My family and I moved here to the United States of America when I was young. My father got a new job which required he move to a new country or spend many months living out of a hotel while he travels to and from the states. My parents decided that they should move to the US. Leaving all of their friends and family behind to try and start a new life. However, this meant when they touched down here in Florida and birthdays, and Christmas began rolling around there was no one to celebrate with. Just the four of us. It was even harder for my brother to leave behind good and close friends and spoke little English.

However, by crazy coincidence, my father's close work friend also moved to Florida, and she already had Brazilian friends, one of which had a little girl my age. Next thing you know I am meeting my best friend KK. In total it is four distinct families brought together by fate, but they are not yet close.

KK and I watched Mamma Mia in theaters when it came out, with Meryl Streep, and we became obsessed. It became our parents favorite musical we learned all the songs and put them into our bricks of an iPod. That's right kids, iPods use to be thick enough to break someone's teeth with. When the next batch of children arrived, we taught them the song and dance too.
Today Mamma Mia never fails to bring us together; it is a must watch on movie nights and sleepovers. We went to the play when it was the last circling, and now we are all eagerly awaiting the sequel/prequel that is Mamma Mia 2.
I never realized how much I was influenced by Mamma Mia until the announcement for Mamma Mia 2 came and I began to analyze the first one.

The movie is extremely progressive. Meryl Streep plays a feisty fantastic Donna who was the leader of the first all-girl band Donna and the Dynamos, however, that is put on hold when she has Sofie her beautiful daughter played by the talented Amanda Seyfried. The climax of the movie is Sofie finding out who her father is because Donna has no idea which of the three men in her life it might be. There is a lot to the plot, but the best part of it is their relationship as mother and daughter. I think its one of the most honest portrayals of mother/daughter relationship I have ever seen. And NO I am not biased. The best part is at no point is Donna shamed for having a child out of wedlock and at the same time Sofie is allowed to express her frustration at not knowing who her father is. Which in the end is all she wants.

This movie influenced how I view love a lot. At the end of the film, Donna marries her old flame but continues to be very close friends with the two men who are also her daughter's father. I believe we must be happy with the choices we make. We cannot come to regret the people we have been with especially because of miscommunication.

I hope the next movie is a great as its predecessor because I need some new music to add to my iPod.