Perks of Being A Wallflower - Friendship

Every child, kid, tween, teen-in fact, every person-needs a person they can pour out their soul to. The power of sharing your feelings comes with respect, comfort, comradery. As my journey with "The Perks of Being A Wallflower," by Stephan Chbosky, began, this message became clear. As you get older, your mind begins to spin, to think about thinks beyond your control, to explore a wide range of topics of life, and of the world. And as it goes through these changes, friends, and family, are the most important thing to have.

Charlie, the protagonist of the novel, is beginning high school with a rough start. The previous year, his only true friend, Michael, committed suicide. This boy, this boy that Charlie could confide in, is gone. Even when Michael was part of the picture, Charlie was still a loner. At a young age, his Aunt Helen, his favorite person in the entire world, passed away. "My Aunt Helen lived with the family for the last few years of his life because something very bad happened to her. Nobody would tell me what happened even though I always wanted to know. When I was around seven, I stopped asking about it because I kept asking like kids always do and my Aunt Helen started crying very hard," it says in the text on page 13. Charlie was raised with two older siblings, resulting in him always being the last to do everything, with him slightly in the middle, the quiet one. It becomes clear throughout the book the Charlie thinks differently than many other kids, and he is a very fragile, nervous boy. But as he starts high school, the final chapter of true "child hood" and the immigration into the world of independence, Charlie is alone. 

One afternoon, Charlie goes into his basement to watch television and he sees his sister and her boyfriend naked. After called a pervert, he witnesses the boy hit his sister. Additionally, Charlie's siblings once had a party when his parents where away. One couple asked if they could use the room he was in. Charlie, a young boy at the time, was forced by his siblings to stay in the room during the party, so he lets the couple come in. "...they started kissing. Kissing very hard. After a few minutes, the boy's hand went up the girl's shirt, and she started protesting... Pretty soon, he took off her bra and started to kiss her breasts. And the he put his hand down her pants, and she started moaning," Charlie writes on page 43. Exposed to rape and sex at such a young age, Charlie has absolutely no one to share his experiences with. That is why the book is written in a series of letters, as Charlie is writing to "a friend," sending his letters off and hoping someone-someone far away-will read them. All in all, this must have been shocking, even scary, to Charlie, and he had nobody to talk to.

However, Charlie is told by his psychiatrist to "participate" more, so he goes to his school's football game. As he walks to his seat, he sees a boy, Patrick, and a girl, Sam, cheering and screaming and smiling with the crowd, so he goes and sits next to them. Thus, a friendship is developed. Charlie is welcomed into their circle of friends-they're all "wallflowers," not "popular kids." He begins to understand what it is like outside his world of silence. He develops a crush on Sam, a strong, deep, emotional friendship with Patrick, and the ability to share what he's thinking with other people. "Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing. And in that moment, I swear we were infinite." Through this quote, it is clear that Charlie has made friends- but more than friends; supporters, understanders, family. As I have not finished the book quite yet, I'm sure there will be many a conflict between them, but Charlie, already has learned a big lesson.

In conclusion, friendship is the most powerful thing in the world. Someone, a child in my school, in my grade-a kid I've been with for nine years-died. The tragic event really made me think about my life- my values, my family, my friends. And when I came home after school last week-after days of crying, emptiness, and grief, the last thing I wanted to be was alone. So I slept over at my friends house, and being with someone, even if you don't say much, has an unspoken way of, just partially, healing wounded spots. Or, rather, comforting those wounded spots. In summary, the power of sharing your feelings is very important, and Charlie has over come his loneliness and