(Loud in the House of Myself). Please read pages 89–151.
Peer relationships during the adolescent years are very crucial. It is during this period that adolescent’s relationships with their parents due to conflicts over the changes occurring in their behaviors. As a result, the peers find themselves as a source of confinement. The feeling of intimacy is also strong at this stage; therefore, being dumped by a lover can be very stressful. Sometimes teens are forced to change their normal dressing code, speech, choices, and the activities they attend, including social activities. All this effort is meant to win acceptance by fellow peers. Rejection by peers in a clique occurs when a member does not conform to the clique standards. The consequences of rejection are mainly psychological. The rejected member is likely to suffer from depression, among other psychological problems. In this case Pershall, who is a teen and has not been close to her family before needed desperately needed acceptance and love from peers than any other peer.
Just like Pershall experienced, schooling becomes so hectic and stressful especially when classmates and close friends reject you. Rejection forced Pershall to confine in books and movies since they would help her relief her emotions. Additionally, the ‘strange girl’ had also to lose some of her weight and change her eating habits since she thought that it would attract both her friends and ex-boyfriend. She was optimistic that once she lost her fat that her boyfriend would seek forgiveness and have him back. Pershall looked forward to days when her friends would invite her for dates in a hotel and take some fancy foods well dressed.
Although Pershall’s medical condition contributed at some point to her rejection, her reaction was normal. It was not strange. For instance, there is this day she threatened to commit suicide since her friends had said she wore the sexy kind of jeans trouser to seek attention. From the sentiment, she ended up concluding that they did not love her.