Jennifer Lopez stars in the recently released movie ‘Second Act’. In the movie, Lopez’s character Maya works at a discount store. Maya never went to college and as time has gone on, she feels that her job is no longer giving her the happiness and satisfaction that she wants. Things start getting interesting during Maya’s birthday, when she wishes for that streets smarts would equal book smarts. Her friend Joan’s (Leah Remini) son, decides to help make Maya’s birthday wish come true by creating a fake resume and Facebook profile.
Once Maya discovers that she is asked to interview for a high profile position, she knows that someone helped make this birthday wish come true. She finds out it was Joan’s son. At first, she isn’t sure she should go to the interview since she would be lying. However, she decides that she is going to fake it until she makes it.
Maya goes in for the interview and of course, comes out on top in the faking it till you make it process. She has worked in retail for years so, she knows what customers are looking for in products and she explains to the CEO what customers want and why their sales have been down. She criticizes their skincare line and tells them what customers would like to see in their products. However, she has one person though that isn’t sure she is a right fit for the job which is Zoe, (Vanessa Hudgens) the CEO’s daughter, the creator of the skincare line that Maya is criticizing. In order, to prove that she is worthy of the job, Zoe challenges Maya to some corporate competition. They must compete on who can make the best skincare line. The ladies decide to compete to see who will come out on top.
Through time, the two women find out something that will bring them closer together. I don’t want to give too much away because I don’t want to spoil this part of the movie for you.
I saw this movie over Christmas break and I highly recommend it. I loved the message that the movie sent to the audience. As Jennifer Lopez’s character, Maya said in the movie, “The only person stopping you is you.” This message is very true. We are the ones that stand in our own way. If you have a dream make it a reality by believing in yourself, rather, than doubting yourself. Suzy Kassem said, “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” This statement is so true. Half the battle is believing in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one ever will. Believe in yourself and you will succeed
Don’t fear failure. Failure is like your best friend. You learn from it. Would you believe it if I told you that Milton Hershey failed? He went bankrupt at one point but, didn’t give up on his dream of creating a chocolate empire. Sure, his caramel business was a flop but, was he a failure. No! He just learned more about himself and decided to pursue a different route which, ended up being making chocolate.
Last but not least, I love the fact that this movie highlights, the fact that you don’t need a college degree to be successful. Our society has told us for years that, in order to be successful you have to have a college degree. I’m not saying that it’s a waste to go to college because it definitely isn’t. It’s an investment in yourself and your education. However, college isn’t for everyone and that’s okay.
Some of the smartest people in the world didn’t go to college. Steve Jobs one of the founders of Apple, dropped out of college after one semester. After he dropped out, he asked his friend Steve Wozniak if he would like to start a business with him. That was the beginning of Apple. He went on to create one of the most successful tech companies in the world, without a college degree.
I’d like to leave you with a quote; “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”-Winston Churchill