In Linn Steiner’s short story “Punk for a month,” Julie Hamilton, a typical “goody goody” transforms her style into a wild punk. At first glance, you wouldn’t expect an inconspicuous high school student to say, "forget about what others think, I’ll do my own thing." Julie’s sudden change in personality and mindset triggers reactions in her peers and highlights her own experience of exploring new identities. The story shows the positive and negative sides of leaving your comfort zone.
“Punk for a month” begins with Julie feeling bored in school as well as at home. She is always surrounded by the same female friends, and boys showed little interest in her. You can tell, she is tired of her reputation and wants to try something new.
Deep down she seeks independence and recognition.
Over time she completed her transformation, adapted every aspect of the punk-lifestyle and is happy with it. From then on, insults and stupid comments were the order of Julie’s everyday life. Only a few students or random people on the street gave her compliments for her brave decision, at least ignored her. Her best friend Anne didn’t really support her though: “within a month at most, you’ll be the old Julie again.”
To be honest, I can understand Anne’s statement because it must have felt like you suddenly can’t recognize an important person anymore. In my opinion, Julie’s decision is very brave, but she should realize that she could lose a lot of friends in the process of becoming a punk. I think the problem is, she thinks she needs to prove someone wrong about her “boring” personality, although none of her friends are complaining. They are the only ones who really mean a lot to her, except for her family, and she does not take this into account in her decision.
If you decide to start a similar journey, you should look at the advantages and disadvantages of an alternative lifestyle. You would probably damage your image, if you switch from an unknown girl to a flashy punk. Just like in Julie’s case. Furthermore, if you can't deal with hate, your new life can turn into a nightmare. On the other hand, it can be a great opportunity to connect with allies, who can relate to the beginning phase of your transformation and give helpful advice.
Overall, you should listen to your heart and make changes that you need for yourself but still involve your friends and try to understand others’ views. However, you should not care about what unrelated peers think or say about you. Your friends should support you in an honest way. Otherwise, they might negatively influence you or push you away for being different.
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