Stuck In Neutral

“I just happen to have this one talent that I know makes me gifted and special—yuck! I hate that word ‘special’ when it’s applied to people. As in ‘he’s a very special person.’ Geez! Who isn’t! But the other side of people is true too. Everybody has negatives about themselves, stuff they wish wasn’t a part of them.”

This quotation characterizes Shawn, specifically how he personifies balance. Mature for his age, Shawn already acknowledges the good and bad that make up every single person, knowing that everyone has flaws or things about themselves they do not like. Of course, for Shawn, these aspects of himself that he finds frustrating are fairly obvious. He knows that he possesses talents which most other people do not, but he does not gloat; he is positive yet realistic in assuming that every person has a unique quality.

“My parents got divorced ten years ago because of me. My being born changed everything for all of us, in every way. My dad didn’t divorce my mom, or my sister, Cindy, or my brother, Paul—he divorced me. He couldn’t handle my condition, so he had to leave.”

This quotation demonstrates the harsh reality that Shawn has had to face as a result of his condition. Although he does not dwell on it very much, Shawn is burdened by his own feeling that he is a burden to his family. In some ways, this represents fairly solipsist thinking similar to the self-centered nature of his father: Shawn believes that he is so important—and such a burden—that he is the sole reason for his parents’ divorce. From a teenager’s perspective, this makes sense and demonstrates a lack of emotional maturity on Shawn’s part; it is rare that people divorce for a single reason. However, as the reader does not have anything to go off of but Shawn’s opinions, we must assume that Shawn believes this to be true, even though it is most likely not the case.