Words between the lines of age

I've been meaning to write about this for quite some time - one of my recurring thoughts on Shake It Up that inspired the blog in the first place - and saw a tweeted image (from "Wild It Up") that worked beautifully as a starting point.

The "CeCe has issues with her Spanish grades" running gag appears in quite a few other places on the series as seen below:

Break It Up - As CeCe's mom tells her about the hospital staff will "do the best they can" for Rocky, she once again anxiously laments the situation, flailing about while retorting, "They'll do the best they can?  I thought I was doing the best I could in Spanish and I got a C minus!"

Three's A Crowd It Up - The new kid in town that Rocky, Tinka, and CeCe all pine over for that episode's duration introduces himself en Espanol, to which CeCe continually convinces herself that "his name is 'me llamo'" somehow.

Heat It Up - CeCe's mom is convinced that her daughter and Flynn trying to act all gracious and kind is one giant act, and CeCe spills it all after a brief query, admitting she "failed Spanish, broke a vase, and lied about passing Spanish."

On its own, the in-joke is pretty amusing, and overall fits with the general perception of the CeCe character as somewhat less than bright.

There's an underlying subtext though outside the realm of the show that entirely changes the focus of this recurring topic.  In a previous entry, I noted how Bella Thorne's own strong faith beautifully incorporated itself into Break It Up.  I also have noticed (though haven't yet blogged on it) the biographical nature of Add It Up, where CeCe reveals she has dyslexia - which Bella has had to deal with her entire life.

During her heartfelt video from this summer talking about her experience being bullied in grade school, she mentions two factors in her outcast status growing up: her dyslexia making it hard to catch up in classes...and her Cuban heritage with her only knowing Spanish much of her early life, only to unlearn it in order to fit in with the other English-speaking kids.  She's since responded by tirelessly helping out StompOutBullying and raising awareness both on the Internet and in person.

With that background, suddenly the constant "not doing well in Spanish" references for CeCe take on a whole new shade: as hints to the struggle Bella had trying to cope with unkind peers not accepting her, either personally or culturally.

I also think of it as a small sign of perseverance and courage too: that it's something she's willing to bring up over and over, through those scenes.  Maybe it's a reminder of how badly she does want to relearn her mother tongue and recapture that aspect of who she is and where she's from.

Maybe it's also a measure of how much Bella's been able to overcome a real obstacle in her life and can look back at it with so much confidence and hope.