Looking For Alaska- Reading Response (spoiler alert )

While Reading Looking For Alaska, I tracked the theme of self-discovery. Miles Halter has just started his first year of boarding school in Alabama,he befriends an "interesting" group of teens, and falls in love with a beautiful, unique girl named Alaska Young, but everything changes and swiftly as it began and Miles will never be the same.

Self-discovery was a theme that I tracked while reading this book. Miles wasn't the most popular kid at his old high school and just accepted that people didn't really get the person he was. Miles would rather read about people through biography's and their last words. It was easier for him to read about people than to have conversations with them. Books wouldn't judge him the way people would. When Miles started at his new boarding school, his friends accepted him because they weren't really that popular themselves and didn't judge him.

I can really understand where Miles is coming from, in our society we aren't really judged based on the values and personality traits we posses, but more on how popular we are or where we buy are clothes or who has more comments on Facebook, because for some strange reason that's how people see us. Their would be no war in this world if everyone would just stop for a minute learn about the people actually are. Who decided that certain things were cool and others were stupid. The last time I checked, I didn't care where someone shopped or how popular they were. 

A lot of the time, people will put on these "masks'' to hide our actually identity because were afraid of being embarrassed or pushed a side. I no that embarrassment is scary and you feel disliked and like everyone is just wait for you to say something stupid so they can laugh at you again.  It's horrible and sadly I know that feeling, that feeling of being ashamed of of yourself because people make you feel like your not good enough but you are. Miles always felt this way because no one gave him a chance, no one wanted to get to know him because it would make them seem less popular.

I mean everyone cares about what other people think and we can all pretend like we don't, but were only lying to ourselves. I care what people think about me and I no you care about what people think of you because that's how our society is. Were just all just insecure ,but that's okay. When we judge other people we only do it because were insecure ourselves. We just want to make sure that the conversation doesn't lead to some saying something about us. We can learn from our differences and grow to be stronger people because of them. If everyone was the same you probably wouldn't even no the person you are or who you strive to be. In America we have the freedom to express ourselves, be unique and corny and comical and crazy and just have fun.  If we all just started to be more compassionate and accepting the world would be a better place to live in. 

We all have struggles and challenges that we have to face in life. Being a teenager isn't easy, and having people judging us all the time doesn't make it an easier. As we have seen on the news and in the newspaper, people commit suicide like Alaska did. When we let others affect how we feel about ourselves, It can get serious. We can begin to hate ourselves or lose hope or give up because we don't no what to do anymore. 

As you can see, we need to discover the people that we are so that no one can bring us down. If were confident in the people that we are no one can makes us feel bad about ourselves. We need to be happy in knowing that we know who were are and won't ever forget it because of rumors and cruel teenage girls.