To Be or Not to Be "Cool"

Have you ever wanted something so badly that you'd sacrifice anything for it? Have you been so desperate to fit in that you'd break the law to be considered "cool"? In the book Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini, a teenage boy named Jeremy struggles to fit in and be accepted into the popularity-obsessed world of high school. In his school, Jeremy’s labeled as a nerd and a loser. But when Jeremy illegally buys a mini supercomputer called a squip that tells him how to act and what to say, Jeremy's whole life turns around. From new friends, to girls, to parties, the squip guides Jeremy through the exciting world of high school popularity and being "cool". The squip is always in Jeremy's brain, reading his thoughts and gathering information to figure out how to make Jeremy “cool”. But as Jeremy learns, having the squip and being “cool” comes at a price. The book Be More Chill is meaningful to teens because it discusses the common high school ideal of being "cool".

One way Be More Chill discusses the idea of being "cool" is through what the squip tells Jeremy to do. For example, the squip tells Jeremy who to be friends with and who to be on bad terms with in order to boost his social status. In the text, the squip tells Jeremy not to be friends with his best friend Michael, who is considered very "un-cool" and weird. To make him more “cool”, the squip helps Jeremy get on good terms with the popular kids such as the football quarterback Brock, who's one of the most popular guys in school. Furthermore, the squip also gives Jeremy advice on how to act around the popular girls because having a girlfriend is considered a big part of being "cool" in high school. The squip tells Jeremy what to say to Chloe, the "hottest girl in school". With the squip telling him what to say, Jeremy gets Chloe to like him, making him very “cool” to his peers. Chloe invites Jeremy to go to a party with her where they do drugs and Jeremy drinks to look "cool" in front of the other kids at the party. This shows how teens believe that drinking and doing drugs and having girlfriends are all what make teens think each other are “cool” whether they’re intelligent and kind people or not. Overall, the things Jeremy does and says and the way he acts and what he does under the squip’s instruction shows and discusses what the typical high school ideal of being "cool" really means to teenagers.

Another way Be More Chill discusses the meaningful idea of being "cool" is by showing the controversy of whether the people the squip made Jeremy hangout with were really his true friends. When Jeremy gets the squip and becomes super popular and "cool" at his school, many kids suddenly decide to become his friend and everyone is much nicer to him. For example, Chloe decides that she likes Jeremy when she sees how he's acting more "cool" even though she didn't even know who he was before he was popular. But Chloe wasn't Jeremy's true friend because she didn't like him  for who he really was before he was "cool". Some people truly liked Jeremy for who he was. For example, Jeremy's best friend Michael didn't like Jeremy for his squip. Michael liked Jeremy when he was considered a dork and acted like his true self, not when he let the squip tell him how to act "cool". Also, under the squip’s influence, Jeremy was unable to impress Christine, the girl he liked. Christine had liked Jeremy before he had the squip telling him what to do. She actually liked Jeremy for his true personality and not the personality the squip created for him. This shows how making a sacrifice to be "cool" isn't necessarily worth it because you’re true friends will like you even if you’re not popular. I know that my friends are true friends because they like me for who I am inside and they don’t care if I’m popular or “cool”. Overall, this book discusses the idea of being "cool" and that you're true friends are the ones that like you for your true personality and not because you're popular.

In conclusion, Be More Chill is meaningful to 8^th graders and teenagers because it discusses the common high school ideal of being "cool". The book discusses what being "cool" means to teens and that you're true friends are the ones that like you whether you're popular or not. This book connects to teens in real life because many teens want to fit in and be popular. Some teens do things like drinking and smoking to look "cool" in front of their classmates. I know that I've had times in school where I just felt like I didn't fit and thought that being popular and having lots of friends was the most important thing in the world. I remember in 6^th grade, I didn’t know anyone in my homeroom though many other kids already had friends in the class. But I knew I should be myself and I made lots of friends in only the first week. No one cared that I didn’t know anyone else or was smaller than everybody else. I made true friends who didn’t care if I was “cool” or not. Jeremy had true friends that didn’t care if he was “cool”. Christine and Michael didn't like Jeremy because he was popular, they liked him for his true self and he didn't need the squip to impress them. Overall, Be More Chill discusses what the idea of being "cool" is to teens and that you’re true friends are the ones that will stick by you, popular or not. This book spreads the message that life shouldn't be about being "cool", it should be about accepting and embracing who you are. 

Reading Response to It's Kind of a Funny Story

     

     It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini is an inspiring story about a teenage boy struggling with depression throughout his high school life. The main character, teenager Craig Gilner, goes to a prestigious, elite Manhattan school called Executive Pre-Professional High School where academic and social stress make Craig stop eating regularly and he becomes more and more depressed until one night, Craig almost tries to kill himself. Criag ends up checking himself into the hospital and gets placed into the adult psychiatric unit. There, Craig makes many new friends and finds the root of his depression. I learned a lot from Craig's journey throughout It's Kind of a Funny Story. From wanting to kill himself to wanting to be an artist, Craig's crazy life taught me a lot about anxiety and coping with stress by finding an outlet. A big part of Craig's depression is academic stress that results from challenging classes and homework from his school. He has a lot of trouble balancing social time with homework time and then trying to find a moment to just relax. Sometimes I get stressed from having a lot of assignments due the next day and balancing hanging out with friends with homework and studying and extra-circulars. Sometimes homework can seem overwhelming, which is why it's important to make sure you leave yourself a little time to relax and focus on a hobby or something you like to do as opposed to something you have to do. Craig discovers in the book that art is a great creative outlet for him and it allows him to focus on what he's drawing instead of stressing about studying and homework.
     Throughout this book, Craig changes a lot as a person as he struggles with depression. In the beginning of the book and before he's hospitalized, Craig is very stressed out about school and life after school. Craig wastes time doing drugs with friends, counting down until the next day where he goes through the same daily routine of slacking off and stressing. When Craig calls the suicide hot line which sends him to the hospital, Craig makes the life-changing choice of deciding to voluntarily check himself in the hospital. Craig begins his stay in the hospital by getting a room in the adult psychiatric unit because the children psychiatric unit is under renovation. In the adult psychiatric unit, Craig meets many adults with different problems and disorders that brought them to the hospital. Craig immediately starts socializing and over the course of only a few days, Craig gets to know and befriends almost everybody in adult psychiatric. He learns the stories of President Armelio, Noelle, and many others that have a big affect on the way he views life. Craig learns from the other people not to take everything for granted or judge anybody for their past or for simply being in the hospital. Meeting these people helped Craig realize what real friends were and that friends should actually care about what you're going through and not just expect you to hangout. This lesson about friendship is a big breakthrough for Craig and helps him get closer to beating his battle with depression. Craig also takes an art class in the hospital that allows himself to express his feelings and ideas creatively. Through his drawings, Craig lets go of all his stress and just enjoys what he's doing. He learns that having time to relax with a hobby can be very good for you. When Craig eventually leaves the hospital, he's confident, excited, and ready to take charge of his life without letting stress take over again. Overall, what Craig learned in the hospital about friendship and relaxing helped him change as a person and beat his depression once and for all.