The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I have just finished reading the book “Perks of Being a Wallflower’’ by Stephen Chbosky. This book is very powerful and talks about life in High School. The book is told from Charlie, the main character’s perspective. While he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Charlie is shy, and socially awkward.  Charlie is also smarter than he thinks he is.  He is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

        While Charlie does not speak much and usually prefers to be a “wallflower” he is a keen observer. He has a very hard life though. Starting his first year of High School, Charlie is attempting to find his way through the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all he needs is that perfect song on the radio to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. There comes a time to see what it looks like in the middle, “from the dance floor”. In the book, Charlie writes:

      “It's much easier to not know things sometimes. Things change and friends leave. And life doesn't stop for anybody. I wanted to laugh. Or maybe get mad. Or maybe shrug at how strange everybody was, especially me. I think the idea is that every person has to live for his or her own life and than make the choice to share it with other people. You can't just sit their and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love. You just can't. You have to do things. I'm going to do what I want to do. I'm going to be who I really am. And I'm going to figure out what that is. And we could all sit around and wonder and feel bad about each other and blame a lot of people for what they did or didn't do or what they didn't know. I don't know. I guess there could always be someone to blame. It's just different. Maybe it's good to put things in perspective, but sometimes, I think that the only perspective is to really be there. Because it's okay to feel things. I was really there. And that was enough to make me feel infinite. I feel infinite.”

I thought “Perks of Being a Wallflower” was an excellent    book. It talks about a teenage life of a socially awkward kid and how he gets through it. This book has been one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. 

My Name

 

 

                My name is Jacob Henry Sutton and I was born in the year 2000, the year of the Golden Dragon. I would like to share the story of my name and how I came to be. My parents first met in high school, where they tell me they had a one day romance.  They did not actually start dating until they met up again here in Park Slope over seventeen years later, when they were in their thirties.  After dating for a few years, they decided to get married and have only one child (my brother Ben would be surprised to hear that).  A year after they got married, my mom became pregnant with me.  My parents decided to find out my sex before I was born. Once they learned that I was going to be a boy, they were able to focus on my name.

              In the Jewish religion, it is a tradition to name a child for someone in your family who has died.  When my parents had only been dating for two months, my mom’s step brother, who she loved very much, my Uncle Harvey, died very suddenly.  My mom wanted to name me Henry after Harvey, but my dad and my Grandpa had bad memories of a guy named Henry in their family.  Henry had a “close” relationship with my dad’s aunt when she was still married to my great uncle.  She ran off with him.  So given this issue, my mom had to compromise and my parents decided to use Henry as my middle name.  My Uncle Harvey’s Hebrew name is my Hebrew name, which is Chaim.  I am told that in Judaism, it is a great way to honor the memory of someone you love.

               You might be wondering where the name Jacob came from.  First of all, my parents liked the name Jacob.  Second of all, my parents only originally wanted to have one child.  If they were only going to have one child, my dad felt that this child should be named after his dad, my grandfather Joseph.  Even though my grandfather was alive when I was born, my dad felt like he wanted his father’s name to live on after he was gone.  So they named me Jacob.

My mom tells me that in some important ways, I am like my Uncle Harvey- kind and generous.  I am glad that I am able to know my family’s history through my name.

 

                                I am like the ocean,

                                And swimming in the pool

                                My name is the lion roaring              

                                 For if I was a lion

                                 I would say

                                “Now that’s good singing”

                                I love the color blue

                                I think my name sounds like it too.

                                Like fishes in the sea

                                Calling out my name

                                Shy, but always full of soul

                                My name is Jacob.                                  

 

I often feel as though I am one with the ocean.  When I am immersed in water, I feel free, light, and unburdened.  The rush of the waves makes my spirit soar.  Similarly, the cool, crisp, water in a swimming pool heightens my awareness of my body and makes me feel  like I am a fish in the sea.  I am like a lion as I love to roar, though my roar is more like a song.  My songs help me to express who I am, as I am otherwise more cautious and shy. I think these things identify who I am.

I am Jacob.

 

My Name Essay

This I Believe:  Follow Your Passion

By Jacob Sutton  708

            All summer long, I struggled and agonized over my decision of whether or not to sing in the senior division of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.  After all, it was a huge time commitment – two afternoons a week where I would come home after 7:00pm.  My parents wanted me to consider my other commitments during the week such as Bar Mitzvah tutoring, Hebrew school, math tutoring, soccer practice and two other choruses, to name a few.  They were wondering that if I took on these additional two afternoons, how would I have time for my school work.   And I was feeling the pressure of keeping my grades up in the all-important 7^th grade year.  Trust me, if it was only my decision, I would simplify my life with only school and chorus.  Still, what was very clear was that somewhere in my heart, I knew that singing had to be a part of my life as it lifts my spirits and my confidence.  Singing is my greatest passion…and I believe that it is important to pursue your passions, no matter the obstacles.

            When I was four years old, I started singing, not seriously, but I started singing.  I committed to memorizing the lyrics from the musicals The Lion King, Mary Poppins and The Music Man, to name a few.  I can remember performing for my parents as I imagined myself to be “Curly” as he sang to Laurie his love interest from Oklahoma, or Macavity, as I imagined myself to be the master criminal and mystery cat from Cats.

            My parents watched as I matured into a more serious singer.  In third grade, I decided that I needed a place to formally explore my passion.  I auditioned for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and at that time, I was placed in their junior division.  It was there that I started to think differently about genres of music and singing in general.

            Pursuing your passion as a student sometimes comes with conflict and difficult decisions.  In 6^th grade, I had an incredible opportunity to take on the role of Kurt Von Trapp in a one night gala performance of The Sound of Music at Carnegie Hall where I performed with famous Broadway stars.  It seemed obvious that I would follow this dream until I learned that the performance was scheduled for the evening before the first day of the New York State math test.  If I performed, I would need to miss the first day of the test and then I would need to take a makeup.  In the end, I convinced my mother that I should accept the offer, that this could be the chance of a lifetime to do what I love most.

            Now that I’ve had a chance to look back on my experiences, I realize that though pursuing my passion was complicated, these experiences were unique and enriched my life in significant and meaningful ways.  I imagine that there are many kids like me who struggle with similar decisions in pursuing their passions.  I hope that they are able to find the balance that allows them to follow their heart.  If you follow your heart and give it your all, you can never regret not exploring your dreams to the fullest.