The Liars Weakness

Teenagers. When adults describe them, they’ll say things like ‘obnoxious,’ ‘rude,’ ‘self-absorbed.’ That just isn’t the reality of the situation. In actuality, teenagers are on a road to find themselves. This road is infinite and on fire. It is hell. So, when they reach the end, they are bound to have learnt some vital lessons. E. Lockhart’s poignant novel ‘‘We Were Liars’’ and Ryan Padovani’s poem ‘‘I’m Only as Weak as I Think’’ is quite possibly the story of a teenager's life. The narrators, through the use of metaphors, are demonstrating one running from their weaknesses and failures, convincing themselves that they’ll be alright, even if it is not true. But how does one go their entire life without an inch of doubt haunting them? In ‘‘We Were Liars’’ and ‘’I’m Only as Weak as I Think’’, through the use of metaphors, we learn that when we feel like failures and feel the weakness that comes with it, we must remember that it is only a barrier on the road we are taking to find ourselves.

86400 seconds in a day, 1440 minutes and 24 hours. Your mind is never at rest. The emotions you hold captive in your head are completely your own. So, how do you expect anyone to understand them? Lockhart and Padovani use metaphors to help the reader understand the captive thoughts. Lockhart uses this technique to help reader delve into Cadence’s intricate mind and fully understand her. We are able to acknowledge how crucial moments in Cadence’s life impact her. When her father left her, trampling on any pride or strength she had left and he ‘pulled out a handgun and shot [her] in the chest. [She] was standing on the wall and [she] fell. The bullet hole opened wide and [her] heart rolled out of [her] rib cage and down into a flower bed. Blood rushed rhythmically from [her] open wound, then from [her] eyes, [her] ears, [her] mouth. It tasted like salt and failure. The bright red shame of being unloved soaked the grass in front of [their] house, the bricks of the path, the steps to the porch. [Her] heart spasmed among the peonies like a trout.’ The pain Cadence feels, in this extended metaphor, is so immense that it resembles a bullet in the heart. The immense pain and ‘shame of being unloved’ is eventually what built up Cadence’s personality and the inner conflict she faces on a daily basis. It sprouts the idea of her tendency to run from anything that may make her vulnerable, which carries through the entire book. None of us are truly able to express ourselves in a way that makes perfect sense to others. We are angry, sad, confused, excited, irritated. And we just do not know how to explain what we are thinking. If an explanation meaning having an expressive outlet. Padovani and Lockhart use metaphors to help readers relate. Padovani’s speaker feels a ‘war within, moves [moving] around with nowhere to hide.’ This is supporting the idea of inner conflict. A war is essentially two or more sides fighting for something they believe in. A war inside one’s head is two or more contradicting thoughts fighting to influence one’s actions. The speaker and Cadence both have so many thoughts crossing their mind and they can not seem to push it away. Much like you, the reader. The metaphors in both of these texts represent the complex thoughts individuals have that do not seem to make sense to others, but they also represent the light at the end of the tunnel. When people finally understand you, through the use of universal emotions.

Failure : Noun
Lack of success.

We have all been there. That dark place where our self-doubt takes over our mind. There is no way to control it. Musky echos that poison our poise. Failure feels like regret, disappointment, and an incompetent performance. In both texts, the speakers share this common feeling of failure. In Cadence’s life, ‘no one is a failure.’ Except Cadence feels like she is. While they both share this idea of being a failure, what is different is the way they both handle it. Ryan Padovani's speaker feels like it isn’t necessary to acknowledge it. The speaker thinks it is best to just ignore that feeling. ‘Anger within, but no need to look back.’ The speaker is filled with regrets, frustration and ineffable emotions and doesn’t want to even acknowledge the mistakes they have made. On the other hand, Cadence, like any other teenager, is on the road to accepting feeling despite it being very hard. When she says ‘I [She] will prove myself [herself] strong’ she wants to convince herself that she can overcome the feeling she has of being a failure in the Sinclair family. The feeling of failure is incredibly common amongst teens, whether you feel like you failed your mother, your sibling or yourself, teens need to remember that like Cadence, accept it and prove that your are more than that mistake you made. Despite what people say, one or two mistakes doesn’t make you a failure.

As mentioned earlier, teenagers are on a road to find themselves. So while they are travelling they are simply confused teenagers feeling the aftermath of external pressure. Pressure from peers, parents, media are all elements that shatter teenagers confidence and cause the weakness that is ever so present in their life. Looking at Cadence’s story, we see the progress she made from being closed off and sensitive to ‘not actually caring.’ When teenagers pass the part of the road that, like Ryan Padovani’s speaker is passing, is filling them with the thought that ‘controlling [yourself] will keep [you] from being weak.’ They learn important morals that ultimately stick with them throughout their life. At the end of ‘’We Were Liars’’, Cadence, after reaching the end of her road, learns quite possibly the most important lesson in her life. That is to ‘be a bit kinder than you have to.’ Whereas, in the poem ‘’I’m Only as Weak as I Think’’, by the end of it, all the speaker has learnt is ‘controlling [yourself] will keep [you] from being weak.’ Which is not the right thing to take away from everything that you’ve dealt with. We are human. We have struggles in life. We have regrets, fears and haunting memories but after you let go of your past, come to terms with it, you are going to reach the end of your road much faster.

In both ‘’We Were Liars’’ and ‘’I’m Only as Weak as I Think’’, the authors, E. Lockhart and Ryan Padovani show the conflict teenagers face daily and by reading the end of both texts, you can see the difference it makes when you finally accept who you are, mistakes you’ve made and lies you’ve told. As a teenager myself, I’m still on the road to finding myself and letting go of my past. It is not easy. But what I hold onto is the hope that the end of my road will teach me as many things as it did to Cadence. Ultimately, no one can tell you if you’re reaching the end. The end of your road depends on the kind of person you are and the actions you choose to do. Even though we all want to reach the end of the road, only you can decide if like Ryan Padovani’s speaker, you want to be stuck with a closed mindset or if you want to be like Cadence and reach the end a better person.

The Problem With Girls Self-Esteem

The teenager will avoid eye contact with the rest of the class while doing a presentation.

She’ll speak quietly to avoid embarrassment not wanting to attract attention to herself.

And it’s not because she’s shy.

‘3/4’ girls admit to being affected by what people think of them.’ Says student from Oregon State University. ‘ And it increases to 98% by the time they are 20.’ She says researching the behaviour of girls aged between 12 and 20.

Middle and high school students are constantly stressing about other people’s opinions of them. Unknowingly lowering their self-esteem and increasing their insecurity. Everyday they are hiding their tears pretending to be as happy as a child walking into The Magic Kingdom. It is showing us that they are pretending to be okay when they really are not.

The students of Oregon State University initially learnt about the insecurity among teen girls when one students relatives talked about her fear of getting judged in school. After noticing what a large issue this is she surveyed many girls and found out the 85% of girls are insecure. And more than 50% say it’s because of external pressure from others.

That is what should worry people. Insecurity is also shaped from how you are treated at home, the kind of environment you live in. ‘Insecurity is very present in the 21st century’ say a researcher from NYCU. ‘And it only drives people away from you. People won’t want to spend that much time with you anymore. ‘

Indeed, experts say insecurity and peer pressure can limit your opportunities and make it more difficult for you to make friends. In addition, insecurity will add stress to you lifestyle therefore causing more people to judge you. And they also suggest that when you are an insecure teen who cares about others opinions on you, it last fir many years and will not just disappear.

3/4 teens worry about others opinions and only 1/4 teens acknowledge that everyone is good at something and bad at something which is why ‘no one should judge anyone.’ The teen continued saying ‘ I could easily judge you on something you’re bad at, but I don’t.’

For the most part girls go around everyday without anyone knowing that they are insecure. 6/7 say they think they hide their insecurities well and 80% of girls say they don’t notice if their friends are insecure about something.

These girls don’t know themselves why they are so insecure, or why they care about what other people think of them. But the girl who walks through the crowded hallway with her head down looking for any sign of judgement among peers. However this same girl is being admired for her bravery and her confidence by one of her peers, completely unaware of her insecurities eating her alive.

But now, students are fed up with their insecurities and are getting help from their friends to make them more confident and less worried about what others are saying. One child from UWCSEA writes down things the feels good about everyday. Another student remembers all of the great things she has done whenever she feels like she hasn’t done something right. These are just simple things that anyone one insecure can do too.

And if nothing works, just remember that you are not alone.