Movie Response

        Just like Rachel in the Girl Who Fell from the Sky, Charlie experiences isolation because of his difference from most people.  He too experiences trauma, and it makes him reserved and shy.  But this allows him to listen.  It allows him to learn about the people around him, so that he is better able to make good decisions.  He is outwardly kind and polite, having no conflict with others.  These are the perks of being a wallflower.
        Yet his reticence also is detrimental to him.  His lack of expression, of feelings or attitudes, leads his emotions to be trapped inside of him, like Rachel's blue bottle.  They accumulate, and boil over, in the punches Charlie threw at the Patrick's bullies, and the punch Rachel threw at Tamika Washington.  They boil over in the Truth or Dare game at the party.  And they chronically oppress Charlie, keeping with him the repressed memory of his aunt's sexual abuse of him.  The same goes for Rachel; the incident on the roof is kept with her.  If Charlie had been more talkative and open, even after the trauma he experienced, he would have been better able to cope with his emotional struggles.
        But there are those people who bring out brightness.  Who allow you to reveal your dark secrets, and help you move past them.  Sam and Brick are these people.  Kind and fun, they are true friends and lovers.  True lovers do not only give sexual contact.  They talk with you, and help you move on.  Joy is beautiful.  Charlie's love was full of it, infinite, forever.
        For me, this movie was a great representation of a realistic struggle of coming of age.  Some parts of me, I think, are very much like Charlie.  I am cautious, sometimes.  But I also love to be with other people, and I love talking to them.  To listen, and share my ideas, and build a more complete perspective on life.