The 'He Named Me Malala' Trailer Will Inspire You

Prepare to receive your daily dose of inspiration: the Malala Yousafzai documentary, He Named Me Malala, now has an official trailer. It goes without saying that Yousafzai is as courageous as she is intelligent, and her efforts to preserve education for all women is the kind of inspirational work that'll make you respect your Chemistry final. But this particular teaser offers a peek into the 17-year-old's life that we don't often get to see... that is, we're reminded that she's perpetually humble, and, at the end of the day, just a girl like any other.

Except, you may argue, Yousafzai ISN'T like any other girl, and there's a good case for that. At her father's suggestion, as an 11-year-old she took up a job blogging for BBC Urdu about her school life in Pakistan, knowing even then the dangers that she faced by challenging the Taliban with her words. After her blog ended, she was prominently featured in the New York Times documentary Class Dismissed stating, with perfect clarity, her intent to become a politician and "save this country."

Even after a horrifying assassination attempt by the Taliban which had her shot in the head and left in critical care, she has yet to silence herself, remaining stronger than ever in her activist efforts. This culminated late last year when she became one of the youngest recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. This is, in essence, the thumbnail story of Yousafzai that we're all more-or-less familiar with.

However, while this trailer does focus on her accomplishments, it also gives us a glimpse of her personal life, specifically on the positive relationship with her family. Not only do we get to see her mother and her younger, but we get to meet the father who inspired her activism and gave her the name "Malala," after Malalai of Maiwand (known as the Joan of Arc of Afghanistan). The familial support is strong among, and Yousafzai acknowledges she would've been limited to the constraints of her nation if they weren't around. Try not to get emotional when she's asked what she would've been if she were just an ordinary girl from the Swat Valley, Yousafzai acknowledges, "I am an ordinary girl, but if I had an ordinary father and an ordinary mother I would have two children now."

But it's not just those moments that resonates, it's the moments where we get to see her play card games, or giggle at the prospect of asking a boy out, or Google Roger Federer. "I'm still 17, I'm still a teenager," she says, and we're reminded of that during these little moments. Whether we consider Yousafzai "ordinary" is one thing, but it's safe to say that her actions make her extraordinary in spite of being a regular 17-year-old girl. And it makes her struggle to bring education to all girls, something that should be normal and a basic right, all the more poignant.

But enough of my babbling. Grab your box of tissues and watch the trailer.

Images: Getty Images