Have you ever experienced a life-changing event? Something that has encouraged or inspired you to change the way you live and think? Events like these are very common for those venturing on a psychological journey to discover their own individuality and beliefs. Sometimes and for some people, it's the journey of a lifetime and for others, it only takes one ordeal to change everything. Not possible? I only have stories to demonstrate how one event can trigger events that can lead to a complete personality change. The Art of Getting Stared At, by Laura Langston, is a novel about a 17-year-old girl, Sloane Kendrick, who, in the process of making a grant-worthy video, discovers that she suffers from alopecia areata, a autoimmune disease. illness that is not life-threatening and will most likely result in the loss of all of their hair. As someone who has always believed that she is more than just appearances, her beliefs are tested to the core as she races against time to submit the video application before the deadline. Looking for Alibrandi, by Kate Woods, is a film about a rebellious 18-year-old girl who struggles to cope with her teenage problems, get good grades to pursue a post-secondary education, deal with family stress and confront her ex -father. who returned after 18 years. This film follows her journey through all these conflicts and shows us the inside point of view of an 18-year-old girl. Langston's The Art of Getting Stared At and Woods' Looking for Alibrandi both contain the elements of a typical "find yourself" story. Both Langston and Woods use their character's journeys of discovery to emphasize the importance of accepting who you are and how family and friends can help you when facing a conflicting ordeal. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Both, Langston's The Art of Getting Stared At and Woods' Looking for Alibrand, I follow the conventions of a typical journey of self-discovery. Journeys of self-discovery occur when the protagonist goes through a series of events and attempts to discover themselves and their beliefs on their own rather than following the opinions of others. For Sloane, alopecia was the event that started it all. Most journeys of self-discovery revolve around an insecure protagonist who, after her journey, gains self-esteem and confidence. One common thing found in all of these characters is that they think that all bad things only happen to them when in fact, everyone has their share of struggles. In The Art of Being Watched, an example of this would be when Sloane was complaining about the unfairness of her life and how she has always done good things, but she doesn't understand why in return, the only results that she obtains are negative. “Do you think you will have a completely fair life? That you will never be challenged? ... A life without challenges does not exist. This is the quote that Sloane's mother says to her when she is having a tantrum. At this point, Sloane is diagnosed with alopecia, which is the icing on the cake of problems. Sloane just went through a difficult breakup, was bullied at times by a group of kids at school, was told that while her mother was going to Sudan for 8 weeks she would have to stay with her father and stepmother whom she despises, and now a dermatologist has told her she is at risk of losing all her hair. This is ashock to her and she now has more things to consider and worry about rather than just focusing on making a scholarship worthy video. This causes Sloane to lose confidence in herself, which overshadows her creativity and imagination. She thinks that now that she is losing her hair, she will look ugly and society will judge her on her appearance. Sloane faces many conflicts throughout the book and each plays an important role in shaping her lifestyle and how she lives and acts around others. As with any typical plot of self-discovery, Looking for Alibrandi also has characters who want freedom or something better than what they have. “If I could be something other than what I am, I want it tomorrow. If I could be what my father wants me to be, maybe I could stay for that too. If I could be what you want me to be, I would want to stay. But I am what I am and all I want is freedom. This quote is a note Josie's close friend gave her before he committed suicide the next day. He was the son of the vice president and came from a long line of politicians. This pushed him to prove to his father that he was as intelligent and cunning as he expected. The pressure built up over the years and at the age of 17, he gave in to the pressure and eventually committed suicide to get rid of the strict rules, the judging eyes, and to simply achieve peace and freedom. This also greatly affects Josie as she loved him like family and was friends since he was born. This is a big turning point for her as she promises herself that she would not give in to pressure and would live life the way she wanted and the way she thought she should. In every coming-of-age story, the main characters often face pressure from their friends, family, culture, religion, or society in general and the plot of this film is neither different no less. Although both characters face conflicting issues and issues that make them question everything they have ever believed in, they manage to learn and grow from it and come out even stronger than before. Before. In The Art of Getting Stared At, Sloane matures and learns to filter out everyone's mean and hateful messages and focus only on herself. “Ella is going to freak out. Kim will probably disapprove. Dad won't say much. Mom will say it's just hair. But ultimately it's up to me to figure out how to handle things. This quote is from the end of the book, when Sloane realizes that after all, it doesn't matter what other people think. She shouldn't care what her parents say, what her sister thinks, or how her friends and classmates react, the only opinion that matters most should always be hers. Or as his father said, “The most important relationship we will ever have is with ourselves.” » After facing harsh judgment and dealing with problem after problem, Sloane learns to filter the opinions of others and deal with trials at her own pace and in her own way, without input from others. As a result, just as Sloane learned to live with her illness, Josie gains a new perspective and learns to look at the world from different angles. “I remember when we talked about our emancipation. The horror is that he had to die to get his. The beauty is that I live to achieve mine. This quote is from the end of the film where, after graduating, Josie looks back and reflects on the crazy year she had. She thinks about what she and John talked about before hesuicide and she notices that he helped her mature in a way. She realizes that she's not the only one with problems and that she has privileges that she should be truly grateful for. Josie also realizes the big difference between her and John; he had to die to achieve peace and freedom while she must simply live her life to achieve his. Throughout the book, just as Slone faced her problems and learned to overcome them, Josie steps outside her boundaries and begins to think for herself. Sloane and Josie mature and adapt a new mindset to begin focusing on the light in the world and not just the dark corners. The art of being looked at and looking Alibrandi both show how if we don't have confidence in ourselves. , the smallest events can cause our minds to think about negative things, but these stories also demonstrate that the key to overcoming this lies within us. The importance of self-acceptance and self-love is a theme well emphasized throughout Langston's novel. Initially, Sloane hated herself for who she was and always devalued herself. She always thought she was inferior to others or less worthy. When she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that causes complete hair loss, Sloane lost even more confidence. She looked at hair like it was money and if she didn't have it, everyone would laugh at her and look down on her. She was constantly stressing about how she could hide her bald spots and keep people from seeing, while also looking for various ways to somehow be a special case and grow all her hair back. “As I say these words, the deep despair in my chest softens...Resistance and denial only make things worse.” But as the quote shows, she quickly learns that resistance and denial only make things worse and that if she accepts her illness and focuses on moving forward from it, she will achieve more positive results. Likewise, just as Sloane struggled with her appearance at the beginning of the book, Josie struggled with her culture and heritage. “I began to realize that it didn't matter what other people thought about what was right and wrong. All that mattered was how I felt...I am me. But I am human. Not a stone. I can be influenced by different things. This is a quote from the end of the book where Josie realizes, as does Sloane, that no one's opinion, except her own, mattered. She realized that some people will always judge and that you can't always make everyone happy at all times. There will always be a group of people who disapprove of your actions and that's okay. In the movie, while Josie was trying to make everyone happy, she changed a lot. She tried to transform and sculpt herself into the perfect person they wanted, and in doing so, she lost sight of the values ​​and morals that mattered most to her. But, at the end of the movie, Josie gets help from many people who show her that it's okay to be different and that everyone is unique but equally special, she comes back to herself and finally achieves the happiness and freedom that it is. always want. In addition to being self-conscious about their appearance, both characters also worry about their identity and fitting in. In The Art of Getting Stared At, Langston uses Sloane's story as a way to show us the mental conflicts that young people of this generation go through and the importance of our identity. East. The following quote shows us the conflicts in Sloane's mind: "Will I spend my time being who I am orto pretend to be someone I'm not? But it may not be an “one or the other” scenario. Maybe I can do both. For Sloane, it was always a choice, a decision. She could either be smart or be pretty. Follow his mother or mother-in-law. Sloane's mother is a doctor while her stepmother is a makeup artist. Ever since she was born, Sloane has been the type of girl who never cares about her appearance. She always believed that “I am more than my appearance, I have more depth than that”. But now that she's losing her hair, she's suddenly more conscious of her appearance and it's affecting how she perceives herself. This alters its stability; mentally, emotionally and physically. Inevitably, she must make a decision: who will she be? In the end, Sloane decides she doesn't have to choose one specifically. She can still wear makeup but be just as smart and have the same personality as Sloane without anything. This has a huge impact on her and is what finally leads her to accept herself for who she is and what she looks like. In the same way, Woods also uses his film as a tool to highlight and demonstrate the importance of equality and that everyone has an equal place, as represented in the following quote: "It makes me feel that I will never be part of their society and I hate that because I'm as smart as them…I want to belong to their world. The world of stylish haircuts and upper-class privilege. People who knowfamous people and lead an educated life. A world where I can be accepted. Please, God, let me be accepted by someone. » At the beginning of the film, Josie hates her culture and her origins. She was born illegitimate and her mother is Spanish while her father was Australian. Throughout her life, because of a society that judged her, Josie always believed that she didn't belong anywhere. She aspires to be like the snobby girls at school who have perfect families and get whatever they want, whenever they want it. Josie comes from a normal family that is not rich, rich, or famous, which fuels jealousy in her towards any other family with these traits. She believes that if she belonged to a culture or if her family was rich, she would be accepted for who she is. This creates multiple conflicts throughout the film and is also one of the reasons why Josie is so insecure. Both characters struggle to accept who they are, what they look like, and where they come from, but ultimately they also learn the importance of personal identity and how the only opinion that matters is their own. . Finally, these two stories demonstrate the importance of family and how, if we are willing to accept it and let it in, it can be the support we need to change ourselves and our situations. In The Art of Getting Stared At, Sloane and her stepmother have a rocky relationship, but since her real mother is in Sudan, the only person she can turn to is her stepmother. “My relationship with Kim is different now. Ever since the crude revelation during the laugh mob when she stood by me and ushered me out with my arm in hers, things have somehow gotten easier between us... Kim still felt like a real mother, supportive and strong. This quote is from a scene after the flash mob. A laughing flash mob is something Sloane decided to do and record so she could incorporate it into her scholarship application video. We are at the end of the film and at this point, Sloane has lost all the hair on her body and is now wearing a cap with afake wig so she can hide the fact that she is bald. But in the middle of the crowd, a jock manages to knock off Sloane's cap by accident and, as a result, exposes his bald head to the entire crowd and all the kids at his school while someone takes a video and it publishes online. Sloane is frozen in place when this happens and looks at the beanie, with the hair attached to it, on the ground in horror. She refuses to look at the faces of the probably horrified crowd. Finally, after a minute or two that seems like an eternity, Sloane's stepmother intervenes, encourages her to move, takes Sloane by the arm, and leads her into the car. Sloane's real mother was in Sudan at the time of this event, so Sloane thought no one would help her. Kim, Slone's mother-in-law, stepped in and took on the role of guardian with great seriousness and maturity. She acted like a real mother to Sloane and gave her comfort and love when she needed it most. She always supported her and always supported her. This unconditional love from someone who is not related by blood made Sloane realize that people can still be a family, even if they are not directly related. Kim's actions, words, and kind care taught Sloane that when you're going through a tough time, family can act as a backbone for you and help you through everything while supporting you through thick and thin. While Langston focuses more on the support that family can provide. , in Looking for Alibrandi, Woods demonstrates how family can also help you get out of difficult situations. The following quote represents this: “I remembered this time last year when Michael was not in my life. It was the scariest feeling in the world. This quote is something Josie says to herself when thinking about her year. When Josie's mother was pregnant with her, the father, Michael, left and never returned for 17 years. Throughout her life, Josie felt anger and hatred towards her father for "not having the courage to take care of her and her mother." They struggled for so many years to get by, and once they moved to Australia and finally settled down, Michael came back. At first, Josie hated Michael and wanted nothing to do with him, but after an incident where she needed help and Michael was there, they began to form a special bond. Michael is a lawyer and helped Josie get out of a situation after she hit a girl in the face with a textbook for insulting her mixed heritage. After this ordeal, they began to grow closer and she began to turn to him whenever she needed help. He was there for her when she needed him and even though it took a while for them to finally come to terms with things and accept Michael, things worked out and by the end of the movie they were all just 'one happy family. Langston also demonstrates that behind every strong person is a series of strong people. This doesn't just apply to family or blood relations, but also to friends and loved ones, as shown in the following quote: “You can handle this, Sloane. I know you can. And you have good friends who will support you. Friends like Lexi, Harper and Chloe. This is a quote that Sloane's mother tells her over the phone when she is in Sudan and cannot help her physically. Sloane is afraid to tell her friends about her condition because she doesn't want them to feel pity or be disgusted by her. She thinks that if she ever told them, they would cut all ties with her and she would find herself.