Are There Really Perks to Being a Wallflower?

So last night I watched one of my all time favorite movies, The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  Normally, I wouldn't go for a movie like that.  It had some things in it that I typically avoid; namely teenage angst and high school.  Typically I would run from a movie like that quicker than I would that two dollar hooker that hangs around outside a nearby 7-11.  But this one drew in; in no part because of the cast involved.  Emma Watson and Ezra Miller led the charge; and bringing up the rear was Kate Walsh, Dylan McDermott, Joan Cusak, and Mr. Never-A-Bad-Performance Paul Rudd.  Ok.  I'll admit it. Really it was Paul Rudd that made me check out the movie.  The man could read the fine print on an insurance contract aloud and I'd watch.  But I digress...
The story revolves around high school freshman, Charlie and his longing to fit in while battling emotional demons resulting from a personal tragedy and the suicide of his best friend.  The movie revolves around Charlie and the new group of friends he makes, primarily step siblings Sam, whom he develops a crush on, and her brother Patrick, whom develops a crush on Charlie.  Charlie, of course, is your typical Wallflower.  Always on the outside looking in; hoping to find a kindred soul to whom he can relate.  He finds that he isn't alone, and that there is a common bond in being an outsider; strength in numbers, even if those numbers are among the unseen of the high school hierarchy.  What I'm wondering however, is does this really happen?  When I was in high school, I had the luck of being one of the more popular kids.  I was an athlete and an academic, so I moved easily in both worlds.  But I remember seeing the Charlies of the school.  The loners that sat alone, buried in their books, forever being teased because they lived on the lowest rung of the social ladder.  I never took part in the teasing.  I never came up behind someone and knocked their books out from under their arms, which seemed to be the easiest way to make someone an instant point of laughter and mocking attention.  As a matter of fact, I would on occasion stop and help that person pick everything up.  But I never went out of my way to extend my hand to one of these Wallflowers.  Partially because I didn't think they would accept a hand, but also, because I didn't think they had anything to offer me in return.  Watching this movie has made me wonder:  what exactly are the Perks of Being a Wallflower?  I'd love to hear from any past or present Wallflowers out there.  Oh, and parents; this is an excellent movie to watch with your teens...no matter where they stand in High Schools Hierarchy. If anything, always tell your children that they can do better than accepting the love they think they deserve.  Watch the movie; you'll get it.
#perks, #wallflower, #high school