Acceptance

Melinda slowly turned the crooked knob, taking a nervous step forward into the empty halls filled of terror. Luckily classes were in session which meant Mr. Neck wasn’t anywhere in sight. Melinda felt a sigh of relief traveling through her parched  throat. Melinda can’t remember the last time she felt any sort of relief. The novel Speak  by Laurie Halse,  speaks for many teenagers today, teenagers who are struggling with acceptance and forgiveness by their peers.

   Living without acceptance from others is very difficult. Except imagine living without it  everyday, as Melinda does. There are many reasons a person isn’t accepted by others, such as personality, reputation and mistakes of their past. As for Melinda her past haunted her, the taunts lasted all too long for something she had no control over. The exclusion, and the whispers, ate away at Melinda and her self-esteem -- emotionally, mentally and physically breaking her down. Unfortunately people don’t forget things in high school; reputations last as long as they take to build.

 There are various causes to Melinda’s struggle of acceptance; however the effects are numerous. Effect number one: she doesn’t talk and when she does, she isn’t really saying anything. Example A: “I close my eyes. Breathe,breathe,breathe. Don’t say anything. Breathe.” Clearly she is uncomfortable when attempting to speak up for herself. Effect number two, due to her past, her social life has completely been destroyed. Effect number three, school is not significant in any regard. Effect number four, depression: caused by loneliness, hurt, shame, exclusion and regret.  Last but not least, effect number five: her parents’ marriage, they are too busy on their own life too even care about their own daughter.

          Even though Melinda feels trapped inside her past, there are ways to get out and be set free. All Melinda needs to do is stand up for herself, tell people the truth and find people who make her feel good about herself. Once she can accomplish that, she will be surprised with the results. Eventually people will come to reasoning and apologize for being judgmental of her. No one deserves to be blamed or ridiculed for their long lost history.

      High school can either make or break someone.  Sadly in Melinda’s case it destroyed her mentally and emotionally but not completely. Instead of letting your mistakes hurt you, learn and prosper from them. Therefore things improve and you won’t have to search for acceptance or forgiveness; it will come to you once you are doing what is best for yourself.