“The truth is, it’s exactly what I want, but I’m scared of wanting it and even more scared of actually having it.” -Angelo Surmelis, The Dangerous Art of Blending In. Evan Panos is a seventeen-year-old boy who is a child of a strict Greek immigrant. He lives with his mom, Vee, and dad, Eli, who encourage him to follow in the strict rules of Christianity, especially his mom. When Evan goes to school, he gets picked on by the school bully, Thommy, and his crew, about his sexuality which makes him question himself. On top of what happens at school, his mom has always seen Evan as a disappointment and she believes that her son seeks evil constantly behind her back. She has abused him since he was five and he possesses many bruises that he tries to hide from the outside world. Although his dad is very loving and supportive, he is very subtle about stopping the abuse that happens constantly to his son. Evan thinks he has no one to talk to, so he writes down all of his experiences and feelings in journals and draws in an old monastery. One day, his mom finds the journals and turns them into their pastor for help. The pastor reads about Evan’s abuse and the discovery of his sexuality. The pastor then talks to him about how he’s just going through a ‘phase’. Evan believes that he can’t hear the word “gay” without the stigma and shame from his mom and his faith. I picked this book for this challenge because I’ve never read a book from the genre of LGBTQ+. Evan and I are very different because of our gender, sexuality, religion, culture, and the location in which we live. All differences aside, we are the same because we both know what it’s like to be a teenager and we both are the only child. Throughout my life, I’ve been really open to meeting people with different cultures, religion, political views, gender, etc, but I’ve never had a true insight of the LGBTQ+ community. I’ve seen parades, marches, and lots of social media posts of people of different ages showing their pride and I really wanted to know what some may go through. Some people go through finding their true self with love and support, while others go through hatred and even worse, abuse. It’s important for people to know that it’s hard to please everyone no matter what, but being yourself is a true way of being the light in the darkness and it inspires others to do the same. Most of the time, other people are going through the same thing you are. You are never alone. In the book, Evan was so worried to love someone because he was scared of what society and his mom would think of him. In the end, his best friend, Henry, was going through the same thing and they end up together. Love is love. I’ve gained so much awareness about the lives of other teenagers from reading this book. This story shows the harsh reality of what happens behind closed doors. I’ve learned some of the struggles of those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. Growing up as a teen is hard enough, but trying to figure out your true self without love and support is tougher than others may think. It’s devastating that some people can’t live their life without the stigma that comes with being who they are. It’s sad that society sometimes traps people from being who they want to be. I think it’s important to have opportunities to learn about someone else’s life experiences to join communities together to gain understanding. The world would be such a lovely place if we all took the chance to communicate with each other and learn together. Amanda K.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorSTenth grade students at Decorah High School share how they're reading outside of their own experiences and how it has changed them. Categories
All
Archives
November 2022
|