Diary of a Wimpy Kid

All I can say is: Thank GOD we read this book last! Due to the crushing amounts of papers and final projects I have lumped onto my platter, my ability to handle another novel was completely decimated. Enter Greg, a preteen cartoon with the sass of Robin and the insight of a Barbie doll. Never have I been so placated by such a simple book in my life. I laughed, I rolled my eyes, I reminisced, and I laughed some more. However, this book had a great underlying message that was so subliminal, the pieces finally come together during the last entries. It revealed that despite the reputation that precedes young adults, they are surprisingly more genuine than adults. When Greg admits on page 215, "I told everyone that I knew what happened to the Cheese. I said I was sick of it being on the blacktop, and I just decided to get rid of it once and for all. For a second there, everyone just froze. I thought people were going to start thanking me for what I did, but boy, I was wrong." This also reveals a difference between the maturity levels of him and his imaginary classmates.

In a ways, Jeff Kinney proved that a child's life is a utopia when compared with the daily dregs of our lives. Adults find an energy kick in caffeine, pilfered Ritalin, Stella Artois, and hookah while children rely on hot chocolate and ice cream to get them through the day. Braces and glasses are a child's most feared facial imperfections while we have to worry about whether or not botox or plastic surgery is the better way to go. Also, the greatest vexation in a child's life is their abusive younger sibling while we, adults, have heart palpitations at the voting booths. This definitely shed light on what it was like to crawl inside the mind of a child and see life through their eyes. We are also dimly reminded of our own resolutions when we were young enough to find an early bed sentence to be the worst punishment imaginable. The reader cannot help but assume a sense of ease while reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The humor is immensely light hearted and innocent, despite the fact that Greg does have some issue with self absorption. However, he is approaching his teenage years so he could be mentally preparing for the dawn of the me-me-me's. But for now, we are hypnotized by the blissful ignorance of children.

As for class, a great deal of things surprised me from learning that scholars actually believed that we could vomit blood if we laughed too hard to the fact that one can find herself in her pizza pie. But, for the most part, I also discovered a lot about myself. I learned what I truly find humorous and have learned to cope with my embarrassing adventures by putting them into a comedic perspective (getting pulled over all because one needed to pee really REALLY badly, for example.) I was able to accept myself for my behemothic list of fallacies and discover that some of them are actually virtues. By reading an onslaught of personal memoirs, I was able to realize that the events in my life make my existence much more interesting than that of the entire student body. Now, I don't meant to sound all hoity-toity, but my immaculate ability to run into light posts and tree trunks led me into great moments of despair. For years I thought there was something so wrong with me, God was trying to off myself in the most innocent yet suitable way. Now I realize that God wants me to have the full experience of what life should be. And now I have arrived at a point where I can fall off the curbside, scrape my knee off, limp to the nurse while oozing blood, and think "Crap, I forgot to buy orange juice at Giant."

Life's moral is "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." After having my ego battered and bruised throughout high school due to my inanity, it was high time I was able to accept myself for my imperfections. I learned who I was through humor. I also realized that I really like making fun of myself because it allows people insight into a life filled with high adventure and unexpected surprises. Maybe I also allow people to see just how boring their lives are. (I am secretly hoping this post jinxes myself through finals since last time I was attacked by a stapler, a school printer, and Professor Edwards. I don't need that kind of stress in my life anymore. But then again, this could have the opposite effect and I might get mowed down by Ted the shuttle driver if I'm not careful enough.) All in all, I found my sense of humor and was able to use that to not only discover who I am, but come to terms with my imperfections. I also realized just why I was kicked out of charm school.