Louisville Stories

We screened at 3 different high schools. Very different. We were first at Central High School - somewhat of an inner-city school. Central was Muhammod Ali's alma mater. Though inner-city it has a strong magnet program for kids to launch them into careers. Magnets are big in Kentucky, almost every high school has them - they are like majors or areas of emphasis for high schoolers.

Central had a young teacher couple - Keith and Keri Meador - who led a student leadership organization, Beta. The WHOLE school came to the assembly - it was huge. It went off without a hitch, which was obviously good for us, but even cooler for Beta, because they organized and planned the whole thing entirely by themselves.

We later stayed two night with the Meadors. We soon found them to be wonderfully wierd. They were in the middle of moving - so saw their matching collections of Barbies and comic books and action figures. They were somewhat quirky, but nice. But they were so generous to let us stay in their home and take care of us.

We also had an even screening at Sacred Heart Academy, an all girls Catholic school. These girls had been planning and waiting for us for months. It was after school - and they had brough 500 of their friends with them. They also planned a bake sale that was quite extensive. It raised $750.

After the film these people went crazy. I was bombared by at least a hundred people who had questions - I was talking for about an hour straight. The merch table was swamped - to the tune of $6500 - the largest response yet of the entire tour.

The next morning we screened at Wesport TAPP. Louisville TAPP schools are Teenage Parent Programs. The school is for girls who are pregnant or have already had their children. It is actually an incredible program. It is first required they take 2 parenting classes, then there are daycare facilities for their children once they are born, so the moms can continue in school and bring their kids to be in school.

Before hand, I feared they wouldn't be interested. I mean, let's be honest, they have enough on their hands to worry about. But these girls were the MOST excited and prepared for us. We were welcomed by 5 incredible girls - Ally, Hannah, Teasha, Darreka and Sallie. They prepared a continental breakfast for us, a full presentation on their school, a tour, and a well-planned screening.

The girls shared their stories. All were mothers - of at least 18 month olds. They spoke plainly and proudly about their pregnancies, labors and especially about their kids. Most all of them said that getting pregnant had been the best thing that has ever happened to them, despite the huge challenges.

When we asked the senior girls what they were doing after graduation, they all responded, unhesitantly, with the colleges they were attending. The junior girls spoke about college with the same giddyness and nervousness as me when I was 17. They were normal, and wanted to be treated as nothing less. But they weren't normal or ordinary. They were incredible - what they were doing with their time and lives and futures, given their pasts and presents, it was incredible. These girls had stories.