A month or two ago I saw a trailer for a new movie coming out soon called The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It has Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Paul Rudd, and all these other actors I know in it. So I decided to do some more digging and read the book it is based off of. Now, if anyone who really knows me knows I'm not a big book reader; just ask my wife. Sure I read comic books and graphic novels all the time, but with books I seem to lack the attention span to keep reading something after 2 or 3 sittings. Well I started reading this book last night and ended up finishing it in 24 hours; which I don't think I've ever done.
It's a coming-of-age story, which are some of my favorites. Charlie is an awkward freshman who just lost his best friend to teen suicide. He then befriends two seniors, Patrick and Sam. Patrick is gay and is secretly dating the school's quarterback, and Charlie it totally infatuated with Sam even though she has a boyfriend.
The book is all written in letter form, and each entry starts out "Dear Friend' and ends with 'Love always, Charlie'. I read that from 2000-2009 The Perks of Being A Wallflower was the 10th most challenged book on the American Library Association's list of most banned or challenged books. This novel touches on everything; gay prejudice, drug use, child molestation, domestic abuse, sex, love, and rock 'n roll. Each character seemed to have some kind of tragic quirk that made them unique in this story.
Anyway, I just found the book interesting because it got me thinking about my own high school experience. Charlie's perspective mirrored some of my own. I never felt like I was appreciated in high school. The girls I wanted to date never wanted to date me, my friends used me because I was too good of a person to not be liked, and everything I wanted to talk about just seemed weird or uncool to everyone else. Then I got to college and realized it was ok to be myself. In fact, I learned it was great to be myself. I took classes where we talked about TV and movies all day, and made friends who knew just the 19-year-old version of me and not the kid who threw up on the bus in 3rd grade. I guess what I'm trying to say is the older I get the more I find the things I thought when I was a teenager were ridiculous. The best parts of my life began after high school.
I keep hearing these teen suicide stories on the news and I just wish someone, anyone, would have just sat that kid down, looked them straight in the eyes, and said, "It gets better; much better. When this is over you're happy life will begin." I mean if I could go back and slap the 16-year-old version of myself I would. I'd tell him that Ashley Freshour (sure that spelling is wrong) and Johnna Kingery only said they'd go on a date with you just to be nice, but we both knew they never actually would. Stop giving people rides and not getting any ass, gas, or grass out of it. Don't ever do anything Brady thinks is a good idea. Don't get caught up on some slutty girl who just made out with your two best friends, one behind your back, and one right in front of you. I'd probably just say something like, "grow a pair son and stop taking every one's shit."
I know I make it seem like I hated high school, but I actually have a lot of good memories with Caleb, Kevin, and Mike. However, I feel my better ones happened at Vincennes with Shaun and Jason or at Ball State with Bryce, Andrew, Al, Theresa, and Lisa. With age may not always come wisdom, but with time definitely comes perspective.
So I guess what this whole rant was about how this book made me think about being a teenager; how it makes us appreciate the life that come after, and how we can't let it define us. Because in the grand scheme of it all it doesn't matter who you were growing up, it's who you are when you're grown.
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