So. SonnyBlue had his first experience with a Senior circle this past weekend as he performed in and closed down the last high school play of the season. He's made a lot of great new friends his Freshman year, many of them Seniors, and it's going to be tough saying goodbye. Since he's old enough to read MommaBlue's bloggy, I will not humiliate him with details, but I bring it up because his rehash with us in the car later brought back the memories. Theatre students probably have the most emotional Senior Circles in the world. At least that was my experience.
Coincidentally, I finally got around to finishing the book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, so I could finally watch the movie. I have to tell you I was excited about the movie when I first saw the trailer while waiting for BreakingDawnONE to appear on the screen. I didn't realize there was a book until my SisTheLibrarian started talking about it last fall. She told me to order it for myself at Chrimbo. Which I did. But reading time was scarce. In the time since though, I have been surprised how many of you have chastised me for not having read it. ( *cough* Toko.) And how many of you have mentioned how much you loooved the film. And then others of you were all like, "Omigod, there's a movie, I loved the book!" Yes, indeed, how did I miss this cultural phenomenon?
Well, I'll tell you exactly how. I was became Senior, myself, in
So wow, yeah, it was quite a story. I have to tell you, this is one case where I think I liked the movie better. The book, I'm very sorry to say, left me feeling hopeless. Maybe it's because I'm reading it as an adult and I just "know better" if you know what I mean? Older, wiser... that sort of thing? I don't mean to sound a thousand years old, but those first twenty years of adulthood are fast. And important. And stressful. And miraculous. And tragic. Your heart learns a lot.
I felt the film ended on a much more hopeful note. And of course there's always hope, Young Lovers. Of course there is. It was just conveyed better in the film for me. Although, I did have to question the David Bowie song, HEROES, as being THE tunnel song. Don't really remember that being THE song of the time. It was always cool, granted, but THE song of the times? Not that I remember. But then I did a little WIKI-ing. And. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I see now. (All About Aurelia fun fact: David Bowie has the same birthday as me. ;) )
I do also want to add some thoughts about the film that I found inaccurate, and not at all representative of the time, though. For one, in the book, Candace and her boyfriend have a much more dramatic story line. And even though she does break up with him, she does not go stag to the prom. Yes, girls were starting to do this in the 90's, but it wasn't typical. Typically, the girl had moved on to another guy, as she does in the book version. Also, in the book, the "Nothing" episode is waaaaaaaaay different. It's not the shop teacher antagonizing Patrick. Teach actually finds the impersonation amusing. Which is very true to the time period. I have to say that for reasons of adding dramatic tension and streamlining the story for film, I did enjoy the updated plotting though. Especially, the bit about "back in 'Nam." Dear God, Young Lovers, did they ever do that to us! It is soooooooo real. Not to be disrespectful of those who served. Just sayin'. (On the flipside, Mr. Anderson is married and not living with his girlfriend and telling Charlie to call him Bill? What's up with that sanitizing?)
I do not know any more about author, Stephen Chbosky than what I read on the inside of the jacket flap. (Ooh. I did like Jericho...."Nuts.") So, I cannot speak to what he was thinking in his revisions as he wrote the screenplay. As an author writing about something so sensitive as growing up, and trying to tell the story well, I'm guessing it's pretty great to be able to revisit something you wrote nearly two decades ago and be able to tell it differently, if not better. And I think it was better. And that just might be the whole point.
I mean, you will never ever forget those days. YA authors, I think, may even be stuck in them forever on some level. ONE FRIEND, TWO LOVES, AND A GUY BEARING FLOWERS, anyone? ;) You will always remember that first time you felt infinite. There will probably be a song to go with it.
(There are four traffic lights on the main drag in my hometown. If you hit one green... well back in the day, anyway... you'd hit them all green. Unless there was a train just before #3. On a dare, with SomeDudeWhoManagesWalMartNowForReal, I rode in the passenger seat of his pick-up truck to Aerosmith's LIVIN' ON THE EDGE, with, literally, my top down, and part of him equally exposed. And it was glorious. Freeing. One of The Best moments of my young life. Right up until we hit that train crossing. And there was a train. And in the next car over, there was my SuperCrushSk8terBoi... LOL... sometimes you just gotta shrug and smile, Young Lovers, especially if that's all you happen to be wearing. ;) )
You will also never forget those Seniors who make those first days of
And saying goodbye will feel like dying. But you'll also be reborn. You will find yourself, as Ponytail Derek points out in the film. And you will make memories. And you will be someone else's memories. You'll probably wax nostalgic and bore the hell out of everyone you know. And plenty more you wont know except on the page (*cough* RaleyBlue... and perhaps even better, Stephen Chbosky). Maybe it will even help someone through a tough time and give them hope. And that's the beauty of this life.
Best wishes, to all the Young Lovers who are moving on to the next chapter of their lives in the coming months. Especially those who will be graduating high school and bursting forth into adulthood. Welcome to the WORLD!!
And just because it's my blog, and I'm feeling sentimental... a big shout out to my friend, IndySchoolBoy, with whom I had my own "living room routine"... STAGE KISS!!!!!!!!
<3With Love, From Me2U, Love, Raley Blue<3
