BOOK OF THE WEEK: "The Perks of Being A Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky

This book draws parallels to three different mediums, but they all have one thing in common: the trials and tribulations of being in high school. 

First things first, it's Charlie's first day of high school. He is portrayed as an introverted, spectator in life, who has seen too much trauma, too early in his young life. His one best friend in middle school, Michael, took is own life under the guise of "problems at home." Now, it's not clear if this is the reason why he spent time in the hospital, but it is definitely a contributing factor. 

It's in this regard that Charlie draws similarities to the character Clay Jensen in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. He - dissociates - blacks out and couldn't remember that he took scissors to his hair and just started cutting. Dissociative Identity Disorder - or D.I.D. as it is called - is a scary disorder where the person who is afflicted, dissociate with the what is going on around them. 

Clay Jenson's character, a quirky, introverted, but well-meaning high school teen, has seen his fair trauma over the course of the four-season series. Couple this with the normal teenage angst of high school it can be a lot and forced him to experience his own dissociative episodes in the final series. 

Towards the end of the series, Clay's father, Matt, while sitting next to Justin's bedside, said something profound. "High school is different today, but in many ways not. High school has always been something to be survived, but it can be," which is something the adult Charlie conveys in the 20th Anniversary Edition Afterward. That no matter what how difficult your high school years they can be survived. Just putting one foot in front of the other and "keep going." Because like the the Rodney Atkins song suggests "if you're going through hell, just keep going." 

Which brings into the picture the third medium, Bowling For Soup's 2006 hit "High School Never Ends," which uses high school as an analogy that life after high school really doesn't change, that people are still stuck on on the superficial concerns. But things can change. 

If you're constantly finding yourself being the smartest person in the room, then it's time to find another room. Swimming with fishes isn't going to making improve your ability if you want to be shark. It's like a 15-year-old playing basketball with a group of fifth graders. That 15-year-old is going to be developing anything skills that will take them to the next level. If you want to see change, and I mean REAL change, you have to improve the circle that is around you.