Go Ask Alice by Priscilla

Go Ask Alice by Priscilla - October 2013 Scholarship Essay

Growing up with parents and relatives who loved to read and spent most of their time doing so only meant one thing. Books were going to become an important part of my life as well. As I was growing up, I picked out books and magazines and read them from beginning to end in a matter of days. Reading had become one of the most enjoyable things to do. Whether it was a book about life, a funny story, a romantic novel, or a fictional book, all genres seemed to catch my attention. In time, several books I read changed my outlook on life. One specific book changed my whole perspective on life and society. This book was called Go Ask Alice. Seeing how it was written based on the real diary of a teenage girl only made this more interesting. After reading it, I realized what a huge impact the book had on me. It was easy to say that this book affected the person I was and would strive to become.

Go Ask Alice was written to replicate the diary of a teenage girl who struggled throughout high school. Alice, the main character, moved cities and transferred from a school where she had few friends and did not socialize much. Moving to a new school meant she had to start all over. This switch meant that Alice was going to try to fit in and make new friends. I was close to graduating from middle school when I read the book and was preparing to do the same in high school. I thought to myself, if Alice could do it, then so can I. Everyone goes through the process. She made many friends, was going out, and seemed happy with her new life. This all changed in the matter of weeks. Alice started to do crazy things, all due to peer pressure and wanting to fit in with the “cool” kids. She did inappropriate things, got kicked out of school, became a heavy drug user, ran away from home, and eventually ended up in a rehabilitation center for teenagers. At that moment, I realized that fitting in could only take you so far. Alice was going down the wrong path and I wasn’t about to do the same just to become “popular.”

Seeing what was occurring to Alice truly scared me. “It’s just a book, nothing serious.” I thought to myself. I then remember that it was a book based on the diary of an actual teenage girl. This made me nervous about going to high school and meeting older kids. Seeing all the terrible things that happened to Alice as well as all of the horrifying things her “friends” did was traumatizing. This changed my perspective on people. I started to see society as a group of cruel human beings with bad intentions. I realized that there are plenty of good people as well. With this being said, I decided I was going to surround myself with positive people in order to avoid situations like the ones Alice got herself into. I noticed that fitting in and being cool wasn’t as important as it once seemed.

When I got to high school, I knew exactly what to do, what to stay away from, who to avoid, and who to interact with. I was not going to let peer pressure get the best of me like it did with Alice. I worked hard, neglected problematic students, and made friends with plenty of good people. Months had passed by and things were going just fine. Until this day, I have managed to take the right path in all situations and stay out of trouble, unlike Alice. I realized that Alice, unfortunately, was a weak person who fell into peer pressure too easily. Although she seemed happy with her new friends and looked like she enjoyed doing crazy things, it was all a lie. In reality, she was just a very sad and depressed teen, who did things simply for the attention and thrill of it. When I felt like things were getting complicated or times were rough, I read the book again and reminded myself that things would get better if I stayed positive. The things Alice did for temporary joy and satisfaction only made things harder for her at the end. This book taught me many things about society, peer pressure, and people and who they actually are, rather than who they appear to be.