Melinda's Future

If you look at a lot of people who have had bad childhoods, they grow up to be burnouts, outcasts, and low-lives. They usually steal and lie and cheat, then they blame it on a traumatizing event from their childhood. The character Melinda from the book Speak is better than that. Although Melinda has gone through a traumatic event, I believe that she will grow up to be a successful woman.

When Melinda dialed 9-1-1 she immediately brought her popularity level from an 8.5 to a -4. Nearly everyone at that party was having fun, and then she ended it, and got some kids in trouble. No one knew that she panicked and didn't know what was was going on. No one knew how she had been violated. No one knew that what had happened changed her life. Once everyone found out what happened people started to take pity on her. I think that when the book is over, Melinda will gain back even more friends than she had already started to.

I think now that Melinda has been through a traumatic and life changing incident her family will approach her more and talk about each others feelings in ways other than notes. She might begin some type of therapy, and her parents will be a little more conservative. Melinda will definetly get more attention, which I think was probably necessary even before the incident. This could either make or break her parents' relationship. I can see them fighting it out and deciding that they both know what's best for their daughter and getting a divorce. That would be yet another thing for Melinda to deal with, and it could affect the rest of her life with split holidays, trust issues, and maybe even pressure to choose sides. Looking at the big picture, this could cause some serious problems.

I think now that she doesn't have the stress from everyone hating her, and keeping a big secret, her grades will raise a lot. She might be known as the girl who got sexually abused all throughout high school, but that will probably leave her when she enters the real world. In a book called My Life in Pink and Green the main character Lucy's reputation gets saved by starting a beauty business in her family pharmacy. Maybe all Melinda needs is to forget this happened and focus on the future. She will never fully forget, but this would be a good start.

She might have bad flashbacks or other  in the future, but I think if she doesn't use the incident as an excuse to drink and do drugs and make bad choices she might have a normal life. Although this could cause some family issues, I truly believe that Melinda will turn out alright.

"I walk through the doors, and the stiff smell of old paper hits me like a brick wall. I'm the weird new kid again. I've recently decided that work is like high school. Maybe not my high school experience, but kind of like the stuff you see in the movies. The jocks are the guys that started the after work softball team and who are on the verge of being fired all the time. The cheerleaders are the catty girls that always sit together during their lunch breaks. The nerds are the kiss-ups that work overtime for free and still get no recognition. Then there are a couple of the plain-Janes, which is my niche. We keep within our group, and we're real with each other. We know the names of each others' kids and occasionally go out for drinks after work on Fridays. Even though working in a plain office building wasn't the dream, I'm still content with where I've ended up. I have a rhythm going. I get the kids ready for school, work, pick the kids up, and enjoy every precious second I have with them. I've found a great man who I'm eager to call my husband. Everything's just fine with me."