If you liked the original, Inside Out, you would enjoy this sequel. Everybody from the original is back- Riley (the girl), and her emotions: Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust, and Sadness. But now, Riley is a teenager, so her emotions have to make room for the arrival of new emotions! Anxiety, Embarrassment, Envy, and Ennui have arrived to help navigate this new chapter in Riley’s life.

I’m not one to give spoilers, so I won’t talk about specific things that happens in the movie- but there is one thing that I will share with these that haven’t seen it yet, as I am sure that many of you already predicted this- Anxiety becomes one of the obstacles in the movie, and that was interesting to see- because I can really relate to that as that is something that I am dealing with right now in life, and I’m sure some of you are or have at some point in your life.

As I started dealing with anxiety/panic attacks as of last December, I have learned how crippling it can be- not just the symptoms of it when it happens, but how it can affect your life as whole. How it can make you hesitant to go somewhere, or do things that you normally do, for fear that you might have another one. It took me a while, after it started, to even admit not only that I was having them, but also that it was a problem. I recently started the wheels in motion to start addressing this issue and am optimistic that I will overcome this one way or another. The reason that I share this, is because I believe that mental health is important- and I believe that everybody deals with something or other at some point in their lives. And I don’t think that it is something that anyone should be ashamed of. It’s normal- things happen, and one can only get better when you not only admit to yourself that something is going on, but that you are open about it to at least another person. And you do something about it, instead of internalizing it within yourself and hope that it goes away on its own.

I didn’t intend for this post to turn into a serious, personal post, but I am glad I did/am doing just that. There are quite a few people who are aware of what I am dealing with, but at this point, I don’t mind sharing it with everyone. And my quick message here is, if you are dealing with something, and you haven’t told anybody, or done anything about it- know that it is okay, and that there is nothing wrong with you. It’s a symptom that you are dealing with- talk to somebody and do something about it. Chances are good that you will be glad you did.

But back to the movie (which isn’t quite as serious what I just described), it’s an entertaining story, that i think helps kids understand the emotions they are feeling and how to deal with them. Sometimes sequels fall short of the original movie, but i don’t think that happens with this one. I think it’s just as good as the first one. If you haven’t seen it…I recommend it!