Claira Jo's story about The Outsiders

Growing up is never easy. Being a teenager is even worse. You’re just looking to belong. No matter how bad things get, you need to know you’re never alone and that’s why the book that changed my life can only be ‘The Outsiders’ by SE Hinton.

I’d recently moved to high school and I was looking forward to it. A new girl came into my primary seven class and drove a wedge between me and my best friend: let’s call her Mary. Mary went away and made new friends and the new girl, "Sarah" did too. I was left with no one.

Still, the people who ignored me would only be in some of my new classes and I had chance to make new friends, so I could finally put the past behind me. By the end of the first day in high school, I found out that Sarah was in most of my classes. News spread very quickly that I was an ‘easy target’ and I soon became the focus of everyone’s narrow-minded, boorish attention.

No matter what I did, even when I was genuinely off sick and took a note to the head the next day, I was followed and paid the price for ‘clyping’ on them. I knew better than that of course, but for two and a half years, I took pretty much whatever my entire year and older kids threw at me.

One day, while sitting at the front of the English class (so the teacher could keep on eye on things) we were handed a white book. The teacher’s back was turned and he never saw what the row behind me did, but still through my tears, I read the first immortal lines of that book.

From that moment on, I was transfixed and loved every single word. Like Ponyboy and Jonny at the start, I never defended myself and of course I’d never dream of doing so to the same extent they did when pushed to the limit, and yes, perhaps I didn’t physically run away like them either, but I did escape from the bad times into my own mind. It’s a place where you’re not misunderstood, you do belong to society and someone, somewhere, does actually love you.

Things pretty much stayed the same till I left high school, but it was the book that made me feel valued again as a person. Even now, all I have to do is read the first sentence and I remember the time I learned to turn the other cheek. It’s that sort of escapism wrapped up in such powerful writing that inspired me to become a writer. If I ever doubted the strength of words, or if I need a quick pick-me-up, all I have to do is read that famous first line …
"When I stepped out from the darkness of the movie house, I only had two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home."

Thank you, S.E. Hinton - Stay Gold ...