The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Kennedy

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Kennedy - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

“I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we’ll never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there.” This quote from Stephen Chbosky’s, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is a something that should resonate in any teenager’s life. Teenagers have no say in the majority of things that happen throughout their years in high school. Most of them are just looking for someone or something in which they can just relate to on the pressures of sexuality, drugs, suicide, self-acceptance, and “fitting in.” In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, they can find just that. This is one book that every high school student should read before graduation.

The novel is a series of letters, to an nameless recipient, from the main character, Charlie. The book takes course over his freshman year, in which he experiences the omnipresent “firsts” that most teens go through: first kiss, first date, first relationship, first dance, first peer pressure. In these letters you see the endeavors that the introverted Charlie goes through. Adopted into a group of misfit seniors, Charlie begins to learn to be part of a group. The characters of this group face there own issues as well. There are the struggles of depression, suicide, drug use, teen pregnancy, alcohol use, physical abuse, homosexuality, and the complexity of what high school is really about.

This book, unlike some other teen novel, does not glorify the characters. They are pragmatic teens with realistic issues in their lives. The characters spend their time eating at the local diner, talking about celebrities, college, and music, just like any other teenager would do. They go through the terror and excitement that all high school students do, and for that the novel is extremely relatable. Stephen Chbosky wrote this book so wonderfully that a reader can believe that the characters are genuine. The situations, the experiences, the raw emotions; they all are so vivid and so legitimate, that readers cannot help, but to find themselves truly concerned, happy, enraptured, and disappointed by the characters and their choices.

Overall, this is novel should be considered as one all high school students should read. Many students can find themselves relating to Charlie, the non confident introvert, Sam, the non-judgmental and supportive friend, or Patrick, the eccentric happy-go-lucky, or any other character. Not one of them are “perfect,” but they make lasting memories and truly care for one another. Together they formed an unbreakable bond that should serve as a model for any teen’s friendship. Readers will enjoy every moment of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. “I swear in that moment, we were infinite.”