I just finished reading Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and I don’t know exactly how I feel right now. About halfway through the book, I found a poem that hit so close to home it was haunting–I included that in my last entry, if you care to read it. Now that I have finished the book, I am feeling nostalgic and reflective. I can’t help but think of my high school days and how I wish they had been different. When I was there, all I wanted was to be done with high school. Now that I’m out, all I want is to be back. Not necessarily at the same high school I attended, but just back in that type of social situation.
I can’t simply shrug the novel off as being fiction because Charlie and I have far too much in common. I could relate to just about everything he brought up in his letters. My feelings right now are too difficult to put into words and I don’t want to have a eighty page journal entry either.
I guess the only thing that I really can say is that this book should be required reading for anyone that:
Was a wallflower in high school.
Was a popular kid in school and wants to understand another perspective.
Remembers adolescence or wants to remember it more vividly.
Plans on / is currently working with adolescents.
Has an appreciation for the struggle of self-identity.
I wish I could say “happy reading,” but it wasn’t for me. I hope it is for you. I really do.
Love always,
Zach
