Dear friend,
I have just finished reading Stephen Chbosky's the perks of being a wallflower, and I have to say it was an amazing book. I took me just under nine hours and sixteen minutes to read, given that over the period of the day I did not read straight without breaks and stopped because I didn't want it to be over too quickly, or was forced to do other things. Incidentally, I ended up finishing the book much quicker than I have any other book, regardless of the fact that it is only two hundred-thirteen pages long.
The book is told through the point of view of Charlie, but from the passages of letters that he writes to an unknown individual. We never find out the readers gender, age, name, or any details at all other than that they are not the kind of person who would sleep with someone at a party just because they could. All we know is that he starts all of his letters with the 'Dear friend,' and ends them with 'Love always, Charlie' It is quite easy to forget that these letters are written to some unknown individual and not to the reader themselves. I felt this way all throughout the book, and frankly I couldn't see someone who would sleep with someone just because they could at a party where people were drunk or sober who they weren't dating, actually reading this book. So perhaps it is written directly to the reader, to you, if you fit the qualifications.
I found myself very easily being able to relate to Charlie, as most other people should be able to, but before that I found myself enjoying to learn who he was before I let myself delve into becoming him. I found myself laughing when he was trying to be cute in his letter on page twenty-one, October,14 1991. Charlie succeeded in making me smile, as well as laughing. From that point on I was all in, not to say that I wasn't at the beginning. I just mean that after that I point I was willing to completely put myself on his side. I like to trust my characters and get to know them. I like to become attached to them and so I did. I liked him all the way up to that point, but when I actually laughed out loud I was ready to attach myself to this character.
I liked Charlie long before the part mentioned above, and was able to relate to him long before that. I found myself continuously thinking of how he reminded me of myself, and I know that I would willing have been his friend at the beginning of this book. I very quickly, as the book began to continue, realized that Charlie was way cooler than I ever was in High School. But despite that fact I could still see myself being friends with him, and wish I was.
I have always taken something from a book when I read it and this one is no exception., but at this very moment in time there are three things that I have taken from this book that prominently stuck with me:
1. I am guilty of using my thoughts to not participate in life.
2. If we accept the love that we think we deserve, then I need to think better of myself.
(I have come to realize that by the end of this book I very much do believe this)
3. I want to feel infinite.
I know that I have many more thoughts on this book that have stuck with me, but these three are the most prominent. I also know that I will have several more after I reread this book, because much like Charlie I like to read books twice. I have three other books that I have on my book list at the moment that I very much want to read. Two of them I will read before I revisit the perks of being a wallflower, and one that I will read afterwards.
If you haven't read Stephen Chbosky's best seller, I strongly insist that you do. It truly is a wonderful book and I wish that I had heard of it sooner and read it while I was still in High School, but I will take it's lessons with me throughout college. One day I will feel infinite, as I hope that one day you too will.
Love always,
Austin
Monday, June 25, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Complexity or Simplicity: Relationships
We have all loved and lost. We love our friends, family, boyfriends, girlfriends, and if we're lucky enough, that one special person we can spend the rest of our lives with. We have all lost at least one friend, a family member, or ended a relationship or some sort with someone we loved. If you haven't, then I envy you as well as pity you.
I never though that love was meant to be complex. It was meant to be simple, pure, and special, or so I thought. I've begun to realize more and more recently that love isn't simple. I have always seen myself as a practical person. Casually unique, weird, and crazy, but practical. Love, and other emotions aren't practical, they're primal. They are chemical reactions in our bodies, but they are also so much more. They are one of the driving forces that help us to do what we do in our daily lives.
Love is complex, and yet love is simple. If two people have feelings for each other then they should be together, but it is never quite that simple, is it? There are a thousand factors that are taken into account by both sides of the situation. Sometimes they know it wont work out, and other times one of them is just to practical, or scared, to allow themselves to take the next step if it could mean rejection, or getting hurt. But if you're too afraid to take the next step were you ever truly in love?
There are people who thrive in complexity, and there are people who delve into the world of simplicity. The lines between the two have become incredibly blurred in today's world or technology. We are technology lovers, and with this complex item we have learned that it can be quite simple to manipulate and navigate through. Having said all of this, it goes with the theme that there are people who look for complex relationships, and people how look for simpler ones.
Is it our intentions to risk getting hurt, or the desire to feel alive that drives us towards complex relationships? There is a thrill that we all feel from adrenaline. It's the same high that we get from these complex relationships, and yet it's unlike any drug that we have. The thrill of being with that one person is the best feeling in the world. But it's the worst feeling in the world when they're no where to be found, when they're ignoring you, and when you finally realize that you're being used. The only feeling that could possibly make you feel worse is when you've decided to continue on the same course even though you know you're being taken advantage of. Like I said before though, love isn't practical.
We could all look for the simple relationships. They are by no means safer. You will always face the risk of waking up and finding the person gone. You will always have to face the risk of losing them, or falling out of love as you grow in maturity. But they offer so much more. They allow you to become close to a person, something that you will never be allowed in one that if filled with complexity. Simple relationships allow you to learn more about your partner than anyone else has ever known about them. It allows you to put complete faith in someone, and have them put it in you as well. But does it still hold the same thrill and chance the a complex relationship does?
From an outside point of view it could easily be said which is better. The simple relationship by far, but can it be said for the people who are in love? Each relationship has its own pro's, but they each share the same con. No matter which relationship you choose you will always face the risk of getting hurt. There is a level of love and dependency that is unlike any other relationship. For either relationship to succeed both levels of love and dependency must be equal between both members. Otherwise the relationship would never last, and one would be left with feelings that were unrequited.
Love is an emotion we will never fully understand. It is an emotion that has driven people to do both good and bad, and will continue in this fashion until the end of time. Perhaps all of these are just unfounded opinions that mean little more than nothing to you, but can you tell me if it really is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all?
I never though that love was meant to be complex. It was meant to be simple, pure, and special, or so I thought. I've begun to realize more and more recently that love isn't simple. I have always seen myself as a practical person. Casually unique, weird, and crazy, but practical. Love, and other emotions aren't practical, they're primal. They are chemical reactions in our bodies, but they are also so much more. They are one of the driving forces that help us to do what we do in our daily lives.
Love is complex, and yet love is simple. If two people have feelings for each other then they should be together, but it is never quite that simple, is it? There are a thousand factors that are taken into account by both sides of the situation. Sometimes they know it wont work out, and other times one of them is just to practical, or scared, to allow themselves to take the next step if it could mean rejection, or getting hurt. But if you're too afraid to take the next step were you ever truly in love?
There are people who thrive in complexity, and there are people who delve into the world of simplicity. The lines between the two have become incredibly blurred in today's world or technology. We are technology lovers, and with this complex item we have learned that it can be quite simple to manipulate and navigate through. Having said all of this, it goes with the theme that there are people who look for complex relationships, and people how look for simpler ones.
Is it our intentions to risk getting hurt, or the desire to feel alive that drives us towards complex relationships? There is a thrill that we all feel from adrenaline. It's the same high that we get from these complex relationships, and yet it's unlike any drug that we have. The thrill of being with that one person is the best feeling in the world. But it's the worst feeling in the world when they're no where to be found, when they're ignoring you, and when you finally realize that you're being used. The only feeling that could possibly make you feel worse is when you've decided to continue on the same course even though you know you're being taken advantage of. Like I said before though, love isn't practical.
We could all look for the simple relationships. They are by no means safer. You will always face the risk of waking up and finding the person gone. You will always have to face the risk of losing them, or falling out of love as you grow in maturity. But they offer so much more. They allow you to become close to a person, something that you will never be allowed in one that if filled with complexity. Simple relationships allow you to learn more about your partner than anyone else has ever known about them. It allows you to put complete faith in someone, and have them put it in you as well. But does it still hold the same thrill and chance the a complex relationship does?
From an outside point of view it could easily be said which is better. The simple relationship by far, but can it be said for the people who are in love? Each relationship has its own pro's, but they each share the same con. No matter which relationship you choose you will always face the risk of getting hurt. There is a level of love and dependency that is unlike any other relationship. For either relationship to succeed both levels of love and dependency must be equal between both members. Otherwise the relationship would never last, and one would be left with feelings that were unrequited.
Love is an emotion we will never fully understand. It is an emotion that has driven people to do both good and bad, and will continue in this fashion until the end of time. Perhaps all of these are just unfounded opinions that mean little more than nothing to you, but can you tell me if it really is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)