A Journey Towards Connection by Olivia

A Journey Towards Connection by Olivia - October 2025 Scholarship Essay

One of the books that has had the most impact on me is called The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. Charlie, the protagonist, narrates his perspective on life as a freshman in high school. He struggles with mental health, and, as we later find out, PTSD from two traumatic incidents. First, we learn that his only middle-school friend, Michael, committed suicide before they entered high school. This causes him to begin this new chapter of his life alone, burdened by guilt about the situation. The first person he connects with is his English teacher, Bill, as well as two seniors, Patrick and Samantha, who identify as “wallflowers”, just like Charlie.
Like Charlie, my freshman year of high school was an immensely hard time in my life. I didn’t have many friends, and I preferred to be alone anyway because of my anxiety and social awkwardness. I was also experiencing bouts of depression that I had never felt before. These mental health struggles, fused with starting high school and just being a teenager, made me feel like an outcast, like Charlie felt.
Charlie also struggles with family issues, like with his sister and parents. It is also revealed that Charlie’s favorite aunt, Helen, died in a car accident on her way to get him a birthday present when he was younger. He feels guilt for this, too, and begins using drugs and alcohol with Sam and Patrick. During one of these times, he experiences a flashback of his aunt, and experiences other flashbacks. As the school year ends, Charlie and Sam’s relationship grows, and they begin to express their feelings for one another. This connection with Sam stirs up repressed memories for Charlie of being abused by his aunt Helen. He eventually realizes that these feelings are related to PTSD and opens up to his family about his experiences.
Connecting and opening up to people was one of the most helpful, but difficult, parts of my healing journey. I think that Stephen Chbosky’s portrayal of Charlie’s challenges was so honest and empathetic, it didn’t feel like I was reading a fiction book. It felt like I was reading someone’s thoughts about themselves. I love that Charlie found Sam and Patrick, because they were people who were understanding and accepting of him from the very beginning. I wish that I had someone like that in my life during my own time of struggles.
In the epilogue, one of the last lines is Charlie deciding to “participate” in life. I can absolutely relate to him when he says that. I sometimes feel like the world is just happening around me, and I am just watching it happen. I especially felt that when I was a freshman. But as I worked on healing and connection, I found myself wanting to engage in things and branch out. Reading this book taught me so much about the importance of that, and it was one of the things that helped me a lot as I dealt with my own challenges.