The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

“Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve.” I just stood there, quiet. Bill patted my shoulder and gave me a new book to read. He told me everything was going to be okay.

“You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.”

And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.

Asleep by the Smiths Vapour Trail by Ride Scarborough Fair by Simon & Garfunkel A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum Time of No Reply by Nick Drake Dear Prudence by the Beatles Gypsy by Suzanne Vega Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues Daydream by Smashing Pumpkins Dusk by Genesis (before Phil Collins was even in the band!) MLK by U2 Blackbird by the Beatles Landslide by Fleetwood Mac And finally… Asleep by the Smiths (again!)

I don’t know if you’ve ever felt like that. That you wanted to sleep for a thousand years. Or just not exist. Or just not be aware that you do exist. Or something like that. I think wanting that is very morbid, but I want it when I get like this. That’s why I’m trying not to think. I just want it all to stop spinning.

But because things change. And friends leave. And life doesn’t stop for anybody.

So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we’ll never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.