PERKS PART TWO

Dear Friend,

Stephen Chbosky's biggest reason for writing PERKS is because he wanted to explore why good people constantly let bad things happen to them. I think I'm justified in calling myself a good person, and if my track record with my family, roommates, sex, and "hip hop artists" I would say I'm also justified in saying I know how it feels to let bad things happen to me.

I would say I'm becoming a lot better at not doing this and also being better at sticking up for myself but, I read this book my first year of college which was probably the highlight of the bad things being let to happen.

In my first year of college: Basically everyone reading this will remember alls well that ends well or at least know what happened. For those that don't quick summary

Scott goes to movie with friend
Scott likes movie
Scotts life is threatened.

Basically it was thanks to someone not being able to hold there cool and get really mad at a tiny detail.
(I really don't want to talk about this because how pissed off it gets me but there is a point that I want to get to, bear with me, or fox with me, or jaguar with me)

So basically this fight happens over facebook, It's really dirty, and hurtful and scary. Mostly because I knew his life, his past, what he was capable of. So if it was anyone else, I would say ok, troubled kid making veiled threats. But with him I wasn't so sure.

(oh heres the part I want to get to!)

So this was pre cancellation (the last rehearsal before the show would be canceled)  I was nervous beyond belief. It would be my first time to see him. Worse yet, the very first scene we were to do is where I greet him at the door. I knew that i would have to come face to face and I was pissing myself. But just as I got onstage I simply said "fuck it!" and I did the show exactly as rehearsed and I didn't back down. Before this point in my life I would say that backing away from things was something I was generally good at.

I know that the people reading this will be mostly be college friends, so let me give you an idea of what pre college Scott was like.

Oh hi, you disagree with me? ok *runs away*
Oh I have this opinion and you disagree with me? *lies says agrees 100 percent*

Confrontation was something to be avoided at all costs. Sticking up for myself? Forget about it.

So what does this have to do with PERKS? Everything. If there is one thing the book taught me it was this:

You are not wrong, Your feelings are not wrong. You are good and You can stand up for yourself because as a whole, Scott you are pretty fantastic.

If you expect me to back down from a fight, If you expect me to just blatantly agree with you, If you expect me to not stand up and fight for what I believe in then I'm sorry to break who you thought I was because: Even if every single person in the room chooses not to stick up for me, I will constantly stick up for myself.

Because I deserve happiness and I deserve Good.

Thank you Stephen.