I might as well have worn a big L on my head during my early high school years. I thought Shakespearean tragedies, wildlife t-shirts, and foreign pop music icons were way cool, which in turn made me not so cool in a small public school populated by hockey jocks, cheerleaders, and other dumb people. The worst part is that I had an attitude behind it all—I didn’t care what people thought. People felt scared of me. I was “different;” I was “weird.” After a while, it got to me. I started to care about not being liked, but I didn’t want to apologize for being myself. Talk about feeling conflicted—sheesh!

My parents and friends gave me great advice through long conversations, but nothing gave me as much insight as the 1999 hit flick 10 Things I Hate About You. In it, Julia Stiles’ character—a non-apologetic non-conforming high school senior named Kat—acts with the same disregard for the idiots who surrounded her that I did in ninth and tenth grades. She listens to angry girl rock music of the indie persuasion, can quote The Feminine Mystique verbatim, and has dreams of becoming a total badass indie rocker. The best part is that there’s no melodrama behind this. The screenplay portrays a very realistic teenage angsty, holier-than-thou personality type that mirrors the exact one I had. Kat isn’t part of a stereotypical clique—the story rightly focuses on her struggles through an ordinary high school and tells her story, which is why I got sucked in. I identified with her.

Through a hoax, Kat ends up finding love and good company in friends. But to the credit of the screenwriters and Stiles’ acting, Kat never breaks her personality type. She is the same angsty girl from beginning to end. Even though this is the case, good things happen to her, and this paints a very valuable lesson for wallflower teens, like myself. Be proud of yourself—no matter what people think of you, there will always be others who find joy in having you around.

Related posts:

1. Jack’s Mannequin ‘People and Things’ Review: ‘Things’ Worth Listening To For Jack’s Mannequin, the difference between their sound now and where they were three years ago on their last album is significant. Generally, it’s not easy to make the transition...
2. CERINA VINCENT TO JOIN THE CAST OF BILLY VAN ZANDT & JANE MILMORE’S YOU’VE GOT HATE MAIL AT THE TRIAD NOVEMBER 11 & 18, 2011 (New York)- Billy Van Zandt & Jane Milmore (Silent Laughter, Love, Sex, and the I.R.S., A Night at the Nutcracker) welcome Cerina Vincent to their e-mail comedy of errors, Billy...
3. Music We Love: J Dilla’s ‘Donuts’ Until a certain point in my life, I thought music was simply what it seemed to be on the surface: a bunch of sounds that fit well together and made...
4. Music We Love: Modest Mouse’s ‘The Moon and Antarctica’ The first time I heard the album I was 15. I was sitting with Justin Nawn in his car before choir rehearsal. He was 18 with tight-fitting vintage jeans and...
5. BILLY VAN ZANDT & JANE MILMORE’S YOU’VE GOT HATE MAIL RETURNS TO THE TRIAD OCTOBER 7 Van Zandt and Milmore’s Broadband Comedy Resumes Performances Friday, October 7, 2011 & every subsequent Friday at 7:00PM Upcoming Special Guest Stars include: Cerina Vincent, Jeff Keller, Julia Duffy and...