What I Read That Mattered

Something I’ve read that really mattered to me was “The Perks of Being A Wallflower”. I feel as if every person goes into high school more afraid than excited. We’re wondering what’s going to happen, who we’re going to meet, what our teachers will be like, whether or not we will fit in. We strive so hard to be someone we’re not that first year of high school. This book was something I could relate to. Charlie is the main character and it’s about his experience his freshman year of high school and his answers to all the questions we had. He met new friends, experimented with drugs, sex, partying, learned to rely on himself, felt his first heart break; he went through everything just like any other person in high school would.  Reading the book after I had experienced all of that made it even more enjoyable, because I could feel those same emotions right alongside him. I remember what it was like walking onto the campus for the very first time; I got a little teary eyed because I wondered how I was ever going to make friends considering I knew absolutely no one. I had lived in Fontana my first twelve years of my life and after my parents got divorced I moved to Arizona with my mom for two years. I made the best of friends with people out there, people I still communicate and catch up with every time I’m out there. Two weeks before freshman year was about to begin my mom decided she was ready to move back to California, before I knew it I was enrolled in Los Osos High School. Just like Charlie, I was very lonely the first few months of my freshman year and tried so hard to fit in with anyone who would accept me. But just like Charlie did, I met people who have impacted me all throughout high school. I’ve met teachers who have heavily influenced me and I’ve also made friends who I will always cherish. We all have our fair share of decisions we wish we hadn’t made, the things that if we could go back and do them again we wouldn’t. But I believe that’s what made each of us grow up, it was the mistakes that made us fall down and have to get back up, sometimes alone, that made us mature. We learned to grow up and leave the people behind who were holding us down and stick close to those who were bringing us up. A lot can happen in a year, but looking back on the past four years I can gladly say everything I did had a reason and even the moments I made mistakes I would never take them back. I highly recommend this book to anyone in high school regardless of your age or the things you have experienced; every word on every page is worth a read and if you cannot relate to it now I can promise you will be able to relate to it later. The title speaks wonders and there’s nothing more that could better relate to my high school experience than this book.