The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky The complexities of growing up can be overwhelming, but you must overcome the realities of the wild and emotional roller coaster of youth to live a meaningful life and productive life. The Perks of Being a Wallflower begins with the protagonist Charlie, at the beginning of his freshman year of high school, dealing with the suicide of his close single friend named Michael and the lingering guilt over the death of his aunt. Prone to depression, introverted and on the edge of problems in many aspects of life, Charlie is an upholsterer who, with the help of his English teacher and his two friends Sam and Patrick, comes to terms with life and learns to interact. It's difficult to come out of your shell and accept the reality of having recently lost two very important people. As a freshman, Charlie lives an extraordinarily passive existence mainly due to the loss of his favorite aunt and best friend Michael. This can be seen as Charlie expressing his thoughts and feelings towards the people around him: I look at people holding hands in the corridors and try to think about how it all works. At school dances, I sit in the background, tap my feet, and wonder how many couples will dance to "their song." In the hallways I see girls wearing boys' jackets and think about the idea of ​​ownership. And I wonder if anyone is really happy. I hope they are. I really hope they are. (23). As the quote indicates, Charlie “uses thought to not participate in life.” Instead of being an active participant in life, ... middle of paper ... find the love we think we deserve. After everything Sam and Bill say, Charlie thinks he should just do what he wants to do. He begins kissing Sam as they lie on the floor and later attacks the ocean floor. Officially become a “participant”. In order for our life to be happy and effective, we must learn to open up and interact with others in order to discover who we are and who we must become. Today there are many teenagers who have low self-esteem due to their physical appearance or their shyness. They don't realize that there are chances of being accepted by others and judged by their inner body instead of outward appearance once they start participating. Although Charlie had the same feeling as these kids at the beginning of his freshman year, his active participation in life leads him to feel infinite and grateful without any feeling of dread..