I've been on and off reading the book Its Kind of a Funny Story since July. It's written in first person threw a fourteen-year-old's point of view. The main character (Craig) in this story starts off in a room with his friends smoking pot and watching movies. Craig is a very average guy. what makes him so relatable is that there's nothing too special about him.
This book is basically about all the hard things that an average American teenage boy goes threw. Craig, just got into the best high school in NYC. Which he soon realizes is not the easiest thing to deal with. he struggles to balance his work with his social life. Soon enough he gets into a metaphorical hole and goes through some deep depression. Within the first few chapters of this book, this was a guy I could defiantly relate to. This book brings out some problems like how parents don't pay enough attention to their kids. kids using illegal drugs. and how stress from school effects kids. I guess this can go into how kids are overlooked once in a while, and when they are; they can do some really stupid stuff.
School stress is one thing almost every kid i know can relate to. Everyone going into the ninth grade (of that i know) are all freaking out because they want to get into good high schools. But at the same time, we're being buried in homework that only slows us down from our extra curricular activities and high school interviews and such. Now, not every class gives out three hours of homework. Typically it's a lot more like fifteen to two hours of homework pr subject. And the homework from one class is not evenly as hard as the next. According to most teachers, thirty minutes of homework a night is a . . . reasonable amount to give. However, when we have seven different classes a week that evens down to about three hours a night.
But what if one class has a project?
What happens when a class has an essay due?
What goes on when a class is behind and needs to catch up?
Well, that three hours can easily alter into four hours.
And what happens to the kids who get home late? And the ones that get caught up in more and more "tentacles" as Craig calls it in It's Kind of a Funny Story. One thing I've noticed has happened to many, many people I am friends with is that with all the hard work they do none of it is actually recognized. Nothing is really regarded for. I mean, what if a kid is actually able to manage all these tentacles with-ought having to be caught up too badly, and actually does their job well. You know, gets good grades and becomes actually productive with their work? Will teachers notice? Don't teachers only recognize work done in their class? So, if one of their students does a good job. Its just a good job. If parents don't notice. Well, parents don't notice. It happens all the time. And friends. Well, friends are there for each other. Most of the time kids can get pretty competitive and push hard work off because they worked harder. They had something to do too. They have problems also. So where does that leave this kid? Alone in stress?
This is somewhat of a problem that can lead to depression. It's a problem that goes on in more than just a book. This is a pretty pervasive problem.
