"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is a book that I immersed myself in last year.
It's the kind of book that leaves you feeling like you've gained an indescribable amount of knowledge after you finish it. It's your typical coming-of-age novel with a twist that you really can't describe unless you've read it. However; I learned one huge lesson from this book — we're all our own people, we all have our own stories and that's OK. We'll mesh with others when they're the right people for us. There are various different lessons one can take from this piece of writing, it just depends on how you look at the big picture because everyone can take away different lessons from it. These are quotes from the book that you can interpret how you want, but they all have good meaning to them.
1. "So, 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."
The wording of this quote is like the language of a typical teenager which makes it that much more relatable to everyone. This is probably one of the most well-known quotes from the movie because it defines the message in one line. The quote defines hope in more ways than one. We have so many factors that play an integral part in the development of who we are and who we strive to be. It shows that we should learn to accept ourselves and accept our past because it doesn't define us individually and our future.
2. "I think that if I ever have kids, and they are upset, I won't tell them that people are starving in China or anything like that because it wouldn't change the fact that they're still upset. And even if somebody else has it much worse, that doesn't really change the fact that you have what you have."
It's OK to be sad sometimes. I promise it really is. Just because there's people all over the world starving or homeless doesn't mean you don't have the right to be upset. In a world like we live in today where it seems like a contention of who has the harder life, it's difficult to not feel guilty for being something that may appear small to others. But it's OK if it looks as if to others because it's not about them, you have a right to feel the way you feel about situations no matter what it may be.
3. "Don't feel stupid if you don't like what everyone else pretends to love."
We live in a society that revolves around conformity. We naturally conform to the trends in fashion and in various other aspects of our life, but you don't have to do that. Don't feel obligated to like doing something or feel pressured to do something just because all your friends are doing it. You don't have to like the same things as your friends, if you feel uncomfortable doing something, don't do it. If they're your real friends they'll respect that decision and not push you any further.
4. "You can't just sit there and put everyone's life ahead of yours and think that counts as love."
It's difficult. I know that. As someone who often worries about everything and everyone before even remotely considering myself, I understand. Sometimes you think that conveying all this love to others will help supplement the love you lack for yourself, and that's not the case. You have to learn to love yourself and learn to make yourself happy before you can even begin to make others feel that way. It's a crazy idea for those that aren't used to something like that, but it's necessary. Happiness is much more meaningful when its obtained by working toward something and achieving it. You can't rely on other people to make you happy because in the end, the only person you truly have to depend on is yourself, despite what others may say.
5. "It's a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready. I have this feeling now that no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any."
Don't wait for someone else to ask you to hang out. Ask them. Start the conversation. Go talk to the cute boy across the room, don't wait for other people's invitation or convenience, do it for yourself. Get out of your comfort zone, because if you ever want to grow as a person, that's the first step. Live in the now because before you know it, you'll have spent all your time waiting and no time doing.
