Response to "Awake"

I believe that the song "Awake" relates to his life, because it sort of describes his life. The song describes the fact that Charlie wants to escape from all of his problems. He wants to be "sung to sleep" so that he can avoid the world that is right in front of him. I think that he wants to sleep so that he can dream about all of his hopes and dreams that he has about his life, but that once he wakes up his insecurities and his fears come back keeping him from living up to his full potential.

Though he wants to escape from his problems, he wants everyone to know that he does not want them to "feel bad for" him. All he want for people to know how he feels or "to know deep in the cell of my heart". He wants them to feel his emotions and understand where he comes from and why he feels the way he does.

Ultimately, even though he has all these problems and emotions, he is still optimistic for the future. "There is another world, there is a better world." He believes that in the midst of all his negativity and fear of life, that there is a bright future. Through his problems and fears, he hopes to find a better place exempt from pain, but filled with happiness.

Perception of Charlie's Mother

When thinking about the Charlie's relationship with his mother, I too, did not see a mother who devalued her son. Instead, I saw a mother who, simply, wanted the best for her child. I believe that she believes that Charlie taking hard classes, he will make use of the abundance of intelligence she believes he has. I think that her desire for Charlie to be in an advanced class is her way of showing Charlie that she believes he has a lot of potential to be great and successful. I think why others think negatively of Charlie's mother is because she does not give him the recognition that he so deeply yearns for.

We all want to believe that we work hard and make the decisions we make for ourselves, but there is a part in each and every one of us that works hard and strives to be the best simply for recognition. We want others, whether it is our friends, our family, or our classmates or teachers, to recognize us for the work we put in. I believe that we have to have some type of recognition to continue to strive for our goals.

I believe that Charlie's mother means well and really does care about her son, but she does not show it in the manner that Charlie wants or desires. Charlie is the type of person who is always unsure about himself and always needs recognition, so for him to strive for goals and strive for his best he needs recognition, especially from people like his mother.

Perks of Being a Wallflower Response #1

Dear Charlie,

Having read your last letter, and I want to tell you that you are not alone. You are happy and sad, but everyone at your age feels sad and happy sometimes, even at the same time. With the combination of school, family, and friends sometimes you may feel overwhelmed. Everyone goes through similar experiences, some sooner than others, but we have to get through them. You may feel as if you are alone and that you have no one to talk to or confide in, but you have people that you can speak to.

Everyone, in their lives, has someone that they feel the most comfortable speaking to, a friend, a relative, a teacher, or a counselor, but maybe you have not found that person for you. You mentioned in your letter that you believe that your family is the reason that you are happy and sad. I think everyone feels frustrated or alone within their family at times, but at the end of the day your family are the people that will be there for you no matter what. I believe that you have trouble expressing the emotions you feel with other people. However, bottling your emotions up and keeping them to yourself may not be the best solution. Keeping your emotions to yourself, may cause you to become even more sad or depressed, because you have no one to give you reassurance or advice.

Beginning high school can be a very scary, but enlightening and exciting time. You are going to need someone that you feel comfortable with to confide in. Throughout high school, you will be faced with new people, new experiences, and new issues. Through all of this, you will need advice and you will need other opinions. Bottling up your emotions or keeping them to yourself, you will never have the ability to see if others are feeling the same emotions as you. High school is a scary time for everyone, and there are others who will feel the same way as you. So, I suggest talk to others about what you feel and your emotions, because they are probably feeling the same way. Knowing that others are feeling the same way, can give you reassurance that you are never alone.

Sincerely,

Meha