Now that I have officially finished reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, my opinion on the book has drastically changed. Originally, I thought the book was very dull, tedious, and boring. Now, I believe it was actually quite insightful and thought-provoking. I learned many lessons and it opened my eyes to the realities some teenagers face while experiencing high school. I came to a realization that once you put yourself in the narrator's shoes, you're able see from their perspective more clearly. That is precisely what happened to me. I now understand some additional, deeper meanings behind Charlie's inner thoughts and actions. Moreover, it was easier for me to find similarities between his life and mine as the story trudged on. .
Charlie's story of his intimidating freshman year comes to a close within the last third of this novel. He mentions all the hardships he endures while watching his senior friends finish up high school and head off to college. His best friends Patrick and Sam go to prom, complete college applications, tour university campuses, etc. All the while, Charlie begins to feel very left out and lonesome. He states that, "I don't know how much longer I can keep going without a friend. I used to be able to do it very easily, but that was before I knew what having a friend was like" (Chbosky. 144). I feel like I can relate to Charlie's feelings in multiple ways. As I continue on in my own high school career, I have come to accumulate more and more friends who are seniors. Last year, it was very tough for me to say goodbye to so many great friends knowing that the next time I'd see them, everything would be different. .
Furthermore, Charlie has a few more mishaps, does numerous mistakes, and makes bad decisions while being a teenage adolescent. His outgoing, but rather stubborn, personality leads him to be a party animal, over drink, take drugs, fight, and smoke on regular bases.
